Basic Defensive Carbine (Full 3-day Course) [THIS COURSE IS NOW FULL]

[Mtbkski]

I'm an AK nut. Will I still benefit from this course. I realize it is geared more toward AR style rifles?

I currently have a one point sling on it, that a buddy bought me as a gift. It is on a bungee, but seems well made and actually works pretty well. He said it was recommended to him.

Figure if I start buy a box of ammo here and there, I will have plenty for the shoot. I have a bunch saved up, but holding on to it till I know for sure I can get more.

[scruff]

Fashion trauma? Well, nobody NEEDS an assault rifle; it's a macho thing, or so I'm told. How am I going to make up for my inadequacies with a noob sling?

Thanks for the advice, maybe I'll give the VCAS a try. I'd rather take a crack at buying something decent and then take the class with it. Won't be the end of the world if a $45 sling doesn't work out. My Colt has a sling attachment on the side of the front sight tower, and a QD swivel on the side of the Rogers stock, so I'll see how that set-up works.

You've obviously put a lot of thought into such things. It'll be nice to have the time to pick your brains and see how you guys have your rifles set up at the class.

Oh, and "GDI"? Hopefully, you'll teach us some good combat-master-ninja-killer terminology too.

[PeteG]

I'm an AK nut. Will I still benefit from this course. I realize it is geared more toward AR style rifles?

I currently have a one point sling on it, that a buddy bought me as a gift. It is on a bungee, but seems well made and actually works pretty well. He said it was recommended to him.

Figure if I start buy a box of ammo here and there, I will have plenty for the shoot. I have a bunch saved up, but holding on to it till I know for sure I can get more.

As I said, most of this course is completely transferrable to any other rifle pursuit. We have had lots of AK-clones in the past. The differences are in the characteristics of the cartridge and the manual of arms, which we always talk about. The differences do not, in my opinion, warrant a separate course.

It shold go without saying that I am familiar with that platform. I do not prefer them to the AR's or the M-1, but I have owned several (and the SKS), and still own what I consider to be among the best availalbe of that genre.

I do not, however, keep up with all the latest "mods and fixes" for the AK's; "mods and fixes" are not what this course is designed to cover (for any rifle). If you are interested in the incremental differences between the "bronze spring vs. the sliver spring," you can keep up with that information on the 'net. You don't need me (or anyone else) for that. (However, when I have some of a particular design rifle in a class - such as AUGS, for example - I do have a "subject matter expert" on the range ready to talk about the latest and the greatest such stuff, just because it's fun.)

Whether you will benefit depends upon how you define "benefit." All I can tell you is the course is designed such that your choice of rifle should not much affect what you take away from this course. Bring what you have, and enjoy the ride. The only restrictions are in the equipment list.

[PeteG]

How am I going to make up for my inadequacies with a noob sling?

By moving well, shooting straight and becoming one with the rifle.

[PeteG]

Oh, and "GDI"? Hopefully, you'll teach us some good combat-master-ninja-killer terminology too.

"Guys Dig It."

Some say "CDI" - as in "Chicks Dig It." But, in my experience, women could not care less about your steel and nylon equipment.

Guys buy all the stuff to make themselves feel better, by impressing other guys. Ergo, "GDI."

But the interst of other guys is transient, at best.

This is the timeless folly of the gear head.

Stick with what Clint Smith said: "You can't buy competence."

[John A Brown]

"Guys Dig It."

Some say "CDI" - as in "Chicks Dig It." But, in my experience, women could not care less about your steel and nylon equipment.

Guys buy all the stuff to make themselves feel better, by impressing other guys. Ergo, "GDI."

But the interst of other guys is transient, at best.

This is the timeless folly of the gear head.

Stick with what Clint Smith said: "You can't buy competence."

^^^^^ This.

Very well said, Pete.

Sometimes, it's nothing more than grown men playing dress up.

It takes 5 minutes to dress like a commando, and a lifetime to learn how to be one.

[PeteG]

The objective of this course is to learn the fundamentals of these rifles, so one can go on to master those fundamentals.

I am convinced one who does that will be effective with any rifle in a braod range of circumstances, regardless of accessories. One who does not do that will only be effective in a narrow range of circumstances, using a particular rifle.

Hardware improvements make the rifles incrementally easier to use, are easily acquired and are visible. This exaggerates their importance in our minds, and distracts us from the true objective.

The outcome in a struggle is always determined by what one knows and how one thinks; it is never determined by what one has or how they look. I have to keep reminding myself of this.

[PeteG]

Just FYI ...

For this session of this course we will be looking specifically at some history and evolution of technique. Fundamentals are fundamentals, but I think perspective on how we got here helps one make more rational and informed decisions about what should be abandoned in favor of "new stuff" and what should be preserved.

To inform the conversation with a longer perspective, LTC. Charles ("Chuck") Santose (U.S.A. Ret.) will be joining us on the ranges. Chuck, a career Army officer, was a LRRP in the Repblic of Vietanam (two tours, if I recall correctly), and later was Ranger qualified, using the XM-15 and M-16. (I was in High School at the time!) He used and directed the combat use of earlier versions of the Stoner-design rifles a lot.

Chuck and I seem agree on all the fundamentals, but we still do some things differently. My hunch is that talking about those differences, where they came from, and why we do what we do will add something to the course.

If I am wrong, no harm done. At a minimum, for those who respect the history of the shooting arts (old coots and twenty-somethings alike) it should be interesting.

[Carnes]

The objective of this course is to learn the fundamentals of these rifles, so one can go on to master those fundamentals.

Expertise is little more than mastery of the basics.

I took this course some years ago and had a good experience. I recommend this course to anyone, especially if you haven't taken a class like this before. The instruction is well worth the relatively tiny price, and as a non-profit it's a great organization to support.

[PeteG]

Corrections: LTC. Santose was an Army Airborne Ranger instructor, and in addition to being a LRRP, he commanded Infantry and LRRP units in ground combat in the Republic of Vietnam. His experience with the the M16/AR15 system runs continuously from the XM16E1 (M16A1) and XM177E1 ("CAR15") to modern iterations of the system to include the M4 Carbine.