Edition 30

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This issue contains the first installment of an AAR on the UBC class conducted 18 – 20 NOV.

 

Training opportunities this month include a Basic Defensive Handgun class this coming weekend and a CWP class the week after Christmas.

 

If you’re interested in attending an Introduction to Handguns class in JAN 2012, please let me know.  Also, I’ve been getting requests to run a Defensive Shotgun class.  If that interests you, I’d like to know that as well.  BDS is one of those classes we run only as demand is indicated.  Let me know.

 

Christmas will be here before you know it!  Consider giving some Good person in your life the opportunity to learn skills necessary to defeat a Bad person.  A gift certificate to one of our CWP or defensive firearm classes can truly be the gift of Life for someone you love.

 

Gift certificates are good for one year.

 

Speaking of the end of the year, don’t forget that Paladin Training is now a tax exempt public charity under IRS code 501(c)(3).   All donations are tax-deductible.

 

Help us fulfill our mission of providing low / no-cost training to individual law enforcement officers and small departments in SC by making a tax deductible gift to Paladin Training, Inc.

 

We have more requests for training assistance than we can afford to fill at this time.

 

Remember…

Stay sharp!

 

Steve

DVC/I H S

Openings in December

We have room in the Basic Defensive Handgun class this weekend!

 

We’re also going to put out there a weekday CWP class the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day for those who haven’t been able to get off for one of our regular week-end classes.  Plenty of openings in that class.

 

Contact me ASAP if you wish to reserve a spot in any of these classes.

 

You can also send a deposit via PayPal using the button to the left.

 

First UBC class

We had nine students for our first Urban Break-contact, Carbine (UBC) class held last month; seven private citizens and two LEO’s from DCSO.

 

Instructors were Jason Dore (FCSO), Chris Watkins (USAF), Scott Tubbs (USA-ret) and myself.

 

I’ll skim lightly over Friday morning’s instruction:  We start every class with student and instructor introductions, followed by a chance for the students to share with us their expectations for the class… why they’re there, what they hope to get from it, etc. Also, prior to hitting the range we had the usual safety briefing, a discussion of the most common problems we see in AR15’s (almost all operator induced) and a quick review of the fundamentals of marksmanship and carbine administrative skills. Since this was an advanced class with training prerequisites, the assumption was that students already had a basic understanding of how to operate the controls, apply the fundamentals, and had zeroed weapons.

 

Still, it’s not wise to stray too far from the fundamentals, so much of Friday was devoted to reviewing and reinforcing them. The administrative load, tactical, emergency, and combat speed reloads were reviewed.   Magazines were purposefully downloaded to force students to make frequent reloads.

 

We started our live fire session Friday afternoon shooting some ‘dot’ drills using 3″ dots at 10 yards. A few iterations of these static ‘technical’ drills helped us diagnose problems and spot some areas that needed immediate work, primarily in the area of trigger control. Trigger control is a perishable skill and most of us just don’t get enough trigger time to maintain it as we should. We are very particular about technique here and teach a five step process to each shot.

 

Something to remember: Every shot is fired as if a follow-up shot will be necessary. Don’t forget follow-thru!

 

After a few trigger control drills to knock the rust off, and a little remediation work, we put up zeroing targets and either confirmed or obtained zero from the prone at 25 yards. Students are encouraged to use either a 50 yard or 100 yard zero on a 5.56 carbine used in a LE or civilian mission. Both are discussed and students are allowed use whichever best suits their situation.

 

Next we reviewed the basics of engaging Threats to the rear and either side. Unlike many schools where a simple face to the rear is taught, Paladin stresses the importance of getting off your opponent’s line of power. If the terrain permits, turns are made with dynamic lateral or diagonal movement off the starting point, the ‘X’.

 

The Zig-zag Drill and an ‘X-Box’ Drill were also fired to practice engaging Threats while moving, first on the oblique, then to either side and finally while aggressing and backing. This is where problems with slings and sling technique started showing up.  Sling issues also were a factor in engaging Threats from the secondary side, or ‘off’ shoulder. I’ll discuss this a little more when I post some of the lessons learned.

 

We then reviewed the fundamentals of the use of cover and worked on alternative fighting positions.

 

Muzzle awareness and trigger finger discipline, the two primary safety skills, were closely monitored. Due to the nature of the drills coming up, it was imperative the students had this down to a subconscious level. There was no room for failure.

 

From last issue:

Video and a brief review is available here:  www.gunn-fighter.com

 

Another video of gun-camera footage is here:

UBC Test Run

 

Lastly, still pics are on my Facebook page.

 

The JAN 2012 UBC class is FULL.  I will take (fully refundable) deposits for standby slots.   Another UBC is tentatively scheduled for MAR 2012.  The exact dates are yet to be determined.Beginning in  MAR 2012 there will be a price increase for the UBC class.  It’s an instructor heavy curriculum.  But, if you want realistic training, here it is!Reminder: Successful completion of our BDC or equivalent is a pre-requisite to attend UBC.

Next issue: The scenario and conduct of the drill.

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