AAR - 3 Rivers Tactical Training Solutions - Carbine II Sept 27th & 28th 2014

[John A Brown]

3 Rivers Tactical Training Solutions conducted a 2 day Carbine II class on Saturday, Sept 27th & Sunday, Sept 28th 2014 at the Training Range at the Beaver Valley Rifle and Pistol Club.

We had a total of 16 students for the full course, and 1 student - Tim - would could only make day 1. Each of the students had training with me previously, and 15 out of 16 have attended my Carbine I class - some have attended Carbine I multiple times.

We (finally) hit the weather lottery in this class. The weather was absolutely perfect - sunny, temps in the upper 70's, and zero rain either day.

Carbine II is not a beginners course. Students are required to have previously attended either 3T's Carbine I course or a similar course from a recognized and reputable instructor. As this is not a beginners course, students are required to arrive on day 1 with a carbine zeroed at either 50 or 100 yards, possess a strong understanding of weapon manipulations (loading, reloading, and malfunction clearing), and have gear - chest rigs, holsters, belts and especially slings - that are set up correctly and actually work for the intended purpose of said gear. Your gear is supposed to make your life as a shooter easier, not harder. Many - if not most - students struggle in Carbine I because they show up with gear that for whatever reason they assumed would work, and they find out very quickly that it does not.

None of the above is required for Carbine I, and those are huge hurdles that students have to get over.

DAY 1

After introductions we did our safety and emergency medical briefings. As all students had trained with me previously we didn't spend the usual 30-45 minutes on their briefings. A special thank you to Wayne (certified EMT) for bringing his medic kit and having it available. Thankfully it was not needed.

Since everyone was required to arrive with a zeroed carbine, we verified zeros at 50 yards rather than actually zeroing. We made a few minor adjustments to a few students carbines, but that was it. The whole process was about 20-25 minutes.

Our first drill was a 50 Yard Aggregate, which was 10 rounds standing, 10 rounds knelling, 10 rounds prone in 60 seconds on bullseye targets. It's not anywhere near as easy as it sounds, but it's a very solid drill to find out where your skill level is. This drill was the first one we did on day 1, and the last one we did on day 2.

After the 50 yard Aggregate we moved right into a multiple threat drill known as the Box Drill. Two threats per shooter, this drill is intended to get the student moving the gun between threats and get accurate hits.

Below is Cory during the Box Drill. Good, aggressive stance. Cory ran a can (suppressor) all weekend.



Below is Nancy, also during the Box Drill. She was the only female in the class. She didn't just hang with the guys - she out-shot more than a couple.



We had very few weapon / gear issues in this class, which was refreshing.



Phil was the oldest student in the class (sorry brother) but he more than held his own. This is not Phil's first rodeo. This man can shoot.



We spent some time on facing movements - right, left, and rear. The photo below is (left to right) Phil, Josh, and Andrew. Note how their heads and eyes move to acquire the threat before their body moves. This is how it's done.



Left to right is Tim, Jon H., and Joe. Jon and Joe attended Carbine I in May of this year. It's hard for me to put into words how much they've improved in that short period of time. Quite a bit.



We did a few drills from the High Ready position. Some people have a stroke when this ready position is suggested, mostly because they were brain washed in the U.S. military that it is wrong. No position works for every situation, and the High Ready is very applicable under certain circumstances.

Below left to right are Jon S., Toney, and Phil.



We ended day 1 doing Shooting On The Move drills. We did this very simply - with the shooters walking directly towards their targets while engaging. No real world application in my opinion for walking straight towards a threat, but this was an introductory drill. I don't have any pictures, but I was a little bit surprised at how well the class did. Very impressive.

Day 2

We started out day 2 with a detailed discussion on rifle to pistol transitions. We added an element that is not included in Carbine I, which is keeping the pistol out while the carbine is inspected to ascertain the status of the carbine. This drill is one I took from Jason Falla of Redback One, and it filled with common sense.

We also discussed in detail ammunition management and consolidating ammo whenever possible.

Below is Jon H inspecting the status of his carbine. Note that his pistol is still in his left hand and ready should he need it. Keeping a working gun in the fight while figuring out what is wrong with the carbine is a positive thing.

Note: This pic was taken while Jon was raising the carbine into his work space.



We did a more detailed discussion about carbine malfunctions that we do in Carbine I. We discussed Bolt Overrides and Charging Handle Impingements, which are rare but do happen. As luck would have it a student of mine on Thursday had an actual Bolt Override malfunction during a law enforcement patrol rifle class.

We moved into shooting on the move with the students moving laterally to their left and right. This was a big eye opener for just about everyone - it's not at all the same thing as moving straight towards your target. Because safety is always paramount I wasn't able to take any pics during this drill.

We got the students moving to different positions while utilizing the football carry technique and getting into different firing positions. And my favorite, strong side shoulder to support side shoulder transitions.

Below, Tom engaging threats from his support side (left) shoulder. Who knew that AR's actually worked from the left shoulder?



The students were introduced to the Brokeback Prone position - a phrase coined by Kyle Lamb of Viking Tactics (for obvious reasons). This position allows for maximum use of cover in certain situations.

Below is Shane in the Brokeback Mountain position. Shane is not a small guy, and he was able to successfully engage threats in this position very well.



Below is Cory in Brokeback Prone to the support (left) side. Not the orientation of his support hand. Sometimes we need to use whatever technique that gets the job done to accomplish our goal. As long as it's safe and it works, go with it.



Below is Nancy engaging threats from her support side shoulder. Very, very well done.



The video below is pretty cool. Toney was having repeated failures to eject. Since it couldn't possible be the Wolf ammo he was using (insert sarcasm here) some slow motion video was taken. The problem ended up being a buffer that was too light, resulting in cycling of the weapon that was too fast.



The next to last drill we did was a one man room entry and discrimination exercise. None of the people in this class are on a SWAT team and we didn't pretend they are. We presented this as a home defense scenario. We created a doorway with barrels and each student made an entry into the room, which had a total of 8 shoot / no-shoot targets. The students had to discriminate between the targets and engage those deemed to be threats. This sounds very simple. It also looks very easy in movies and TV shows. It's not. Nobody was unsafe, but some of the students had never done anything like this before.

Below is a not very good picture of the "room" students entered. I regret not getting a better picture and showing the doorway. The targets were spread out more than it seems in this picture.

We finished day 2 with the same drill we started with on day 1 - the 50 Yard Aggregate. Most shooters showed improvement. For this who didn't, I attribute that to spending 2 very long days in the the very hot sun.

This was a great class filled with great people. Everyone had the common goal to improve their skills, and the camaraderie among everyone was fantastic.

A thank you to Ashton Ray who came out on Sunday to help run the class with me.

I welcome everyone comments.

John
www.3riverstraining.com

[JoshIronshaft]

Great class and beautiful weekend for it. It was good to build off of everything in carbine I and get introduced to some new things. I wish there was more time!

Some of the things that stand out in my mind:

1. I can shoot with the lens cap on my red dot closed with both eyes open. Superimposing is cool.

2. Always feed out of the same primary mag pouch and keep refilling it.

3. Shoot while moving at an angle, not towards the target. Duh!

4. I really need to practice more. Training classes are for learning, not practice.

5. Follow the target to the ground.

What a great group of people to be around. Everyone was there with a common purpose and interest that translated to a lot of fist bumps and "good jobs".

[John A Brown]

Great points Josh.

Believe me - I wish there was more time too.

It really is amazing how great the people are who come out to these classes.

It makes it much easier on everyone when "That Guy" doesn't make an appearance.

John
www.3riverstraining.com

[sgtmcbowflex]

Shane here.

Another great class from 3T with this being my third and definitely not my last.

Fortunately, this time around I made some changes to my gear which made the training a lot easier than Carbine I.

I definitely came out of this training understanding things I need to work on. The box drill is something I'll incorporate at my time at the range. I need to break my habit of not moving my head and eyes to the next target before the rifle moves.


The Brokeback Mountain position was a challenge for sure. The vertical foregrip on my rifle really helped on this position to get the rifle up high enough to get a proper sight picture.

Like John, and Josh said. This was an awesome group of people to be in a class with.

[Im not Batman]

I may not have been there... But I wish I had a Carbine and could have went

I must say...first impressions... 3RTTS web site is an eye catcher.

You have the pistol classes I wish to run thru

I live in Philly and have a LTCF. There is an indoor facility here that I am looking into also...but the outdoor element appeals to me

One question on the equipment list from the OP ...the chest rig....where they armored?? Or just a Mole rig?

Looked like all had a great time ... Beaver Valley is awesome this time of year

[John A Brown]

Batman,

Thanks for your comments.

We had 3 students in the class from the Philly area. Greg, Wayne, and Nancy all came from your neck of the woods, which shows a lot of commitment to learn this craft.

To answer your question.......I know that some of the students had plates in their plate carriers, but I don't think everyone did. And those that just had actual MOLLE chest rigs didn't have any body armor.

John
www.3riverstraining.com

[jwramp]

I may not have been there... But I wish I had a Carbine and could have went

I must say...first impressions... 3RTTS web site is an eye catcher.

You have the pistol classes I wish to run thru

I live in Philly and have a LTCF. There is an indoor facility here that I am looking into also...but the outdoor element appeals to me

One question on the equipment list from the OP ...the chest rig....where they armored?? Or just a Mole rig?

Looked like all had a great time ... Beaver Valley is awesome this time of year

Thanks for the note on the website - I take care of that for John

Most of the plate carriers that were run had some sort of armor in them - either very heavy but inexpensive AR500 steel plates or ceramic plates that are around 4lb a piece but more spendy. If the rig doesn't have a big flat fabric area, then it's just a chest rig that doesn't offer ballistic protection. Still a fantastic option for having magazines and other equipment at the ready in an easy-to-don package.

Some CQB/shoothouse courses require armor but most others don't. Lugging around an extra 20-30lb for the day can wear a student down, but as long as it doesn't bring them down into the unsafe zone, it can be great exercise

Whether you're wearing armor or not though - ALWAYS KEEP HYDRATING! Can never drink enough water at a course like this.

Here's a couple shots that I took over the weekend:


John advocates racking the CH rather than slapping the bolt catch, every time:

Becoming a better handgun shooter makes you a better everything-shooter:

Taking a glance at the blank-induced malfunction before attacking it:

When moving left, in might behoove a right-handed shooter to switch shoulders:

Taking care of your carbine up in the workspace where you can keep your eyes downrange:


Ashton proved an invaluable resource on the range as an assistant instructor:

Sometimes you don't need Multicam to get work done:


"Football carry" while moving:

The aforementioned "Brokeback Mountain" position:


Damn that Crye top looked comfy




Having two sets of instructor's eyes on the range lets you run simultaneous drills in a safe manner:

Taking the time to shuffle mag location. Always want a ready-to-go mag in your primary pouch:

Transitioning to run leftie. It's a beautiful thing:

Hmm. Badge in one hand, bullet in the face. We have a problem here:

Decisions, decisions:


Gun-no-worky? Switch to blaster when you're working in close:

Make entry like you mean it:




Looking forward to November's Home Defense / CQB course where students will get a much deeper look at some of the concepts introduced in Carbine II:

http://www.3riverstraining.com/news/...me-defense-cqb

[jwramp]

And a short video from Saturday evening:

[Jay_Cunningham]

I only got to play for a couple of hours but it was fun! Good job instructing John and Ashton and nice pics JW!

[JoshIronshaft]

JW when I looks at yours pics and video I hear angels crying.