Tropical Sport Shooting Association again held the monthly South Florida Defensive Carbine match on the 4th Tuesday, the 25th of August 2009, at the Markham Park Target Range in
western
Broward County, Florida. Set up began at approximately 18:00,
with sign-in beginning at 18:45 and shots fired by 19:15. All shooters
were complete and props and targets off the range by 21:30. We had a
total of 17 shooters split between two squads. Weather was overcast
early, low 90s before sunset and high 80s after with a heat index of
Course Description
Stage One was based on the Viking Tactics Tri-Lambda
Drill
found on their YouTube Channel
as a pistol
drill. 9 targets at 5-7 yards, three magazines with 6 rounds each.
Each target gets two rounds, reload as needed.
Intent
While a very simple drill, if run repeatedly on a timer
there are a lot of teaching points and training opportunities here.
Among other things are establishing and maintaining a cadence when
engaging multiple targets, understanding your own speed at which you
can do so, and the opportunity to perform to emergency reloads each
time you run the drill.
Gaming
About
the only way is to start at one end of the array and work your way from
one side to the other. Kyle shoots the drill beginning with the center
set of three, then the left set, then the right.
Personal Lessons
I
am really finding the BAD-style levers to be useful. While it may only
provide incremental increase in emergency reload speed, it makes the
whole process smoother and less fumble-prone. I also believe I am
getting better at maintaining a consistent cadence while engaging
multiple targets.
Admin Lessons
If
you want people to shoot the stage a certain way, be sure to include
that in the walkthrough. Having a printed stage design sheet helps as
it can be used as notes during the walkthrough to ensure that all of
the design intent in communicated. I left out the instruction to start
with the center set and so nobody did.
Stage Two was based, loosely, on the Viking Tactics
Zig-Zag Drill. Since we can't have shooters turning and moving back
up-range with a hot firearm, we instead chose to shoot while
retreating. 5 Targets, 4 barrels. At the signal the shooter begins at
the right-rear barrel, advances forward while engaging T1, then turns
and engages T2-T4 while moving laterally to the left, and after
clearing the left-forward barrel engages T5 while retreating. Start
point was 10 yards from the row of targets, turning point and laterall
line as 5 yards.
Intent
This stage, along with Stage One, was designed to be a simple
stage due to the complex nature of Stage Three. One squad shot both
Stage One and Two in the time it took the other squad to shoot Stage
Three, and with time to spare. This stage, especially the lateral
portion, again works on cadence when engaging multiple targets, this
time while on the move.
Gaming
Since the shooter had to move forward 5 yards while engaging only
one target, and couldn't engage T2-T4 until after making the turn, it
makes sense to continue to engage T1 the entire time moving forward to
ensure that it is neutralized.
Personal Lessons
I would like to work on my cadence while moving and engaging multiple targets.
Admin Lessons
I still prefer this as a stage when we do it
as the Box Drill where you move foward, then lateratlly, then backward,
then laterally back to the starting point. I would also like to try it
with a setup that requires moving diagonally forward.
Stage Two Video 01 Note that the shooter pulled the second magazine reversed, got it turned around, and kept on shooting. Everyone makes mistakes. It's how you deal with those mistakes that matters.
Stage Two Video 02 Me. Bumbled my second reload a bit. If you look closely you can see that my finger is NOT entering the trigger guard in order to activate the lever to drop the bolt.
The design concept for this stage came from the recent
Somali pirate incidents in the news. The shooter began atop the upper
level of the trailer (the "yacht") and repelled four "boarders" over
the side before the trailer started moving. Through a system of
pulleys a smaller trailer was pulled along in the opposite direction
with 4 targets aboard. The final array consisted of four paper targets
and two steel. Both steel were engaged, then one of the paper, then
one of the steel, then back to one of the paper etc. to simulate each
successive neutralized target dropping an "RPG" and another target
picking it up.
Intent
While drills stages are good skill builders, scenario stages are
fun and often give us an opportunity to work on skills that we rarely
get to. In this case, firing from an elevated moving position while
engaging multiple moving targets.
Gaming
Most shooters chose to engage each of the "boarders" with at least
four rounds each before moving their attention to the moving targets.
Since a magazine change was eventual anyway, unloading the magazine at
the movers served to ensure four neutralized targets.
Personal Lessons
I managed to shoot this stage clean in a reshoot due to a false
start my first time. I would like more opportunities to engage moving
targets, and want to work the small trailer into more stages.
Admin Lessons
Setup for stages like this takes time and the desgin has to be
flexible to work within the restrictions of the range. There were some
setup issues getting the ropes and pulleys worked out, resulting in a
bit of a late start, but it all worked out in the end. Making sure
that all hands are available and working to re-set the stages is
critical as well to ensure that everyone gets to shoot in the time
alloted. Having simple stages along with one large complex stage like
this is also critical, as multiple complex stages can be the undoing.
Stage Three Me,engaging the "boarders"
Stage Three Me, engaging the final array of targets
