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080514-18 Yavapai Firearms Academy Tactical Rifle/Carbine at Southern Exposure Training Facility

Beginning on Wednesday 14 May 2008 and ending on Friday 18 May 2008, I attended a Tactical Rifle/Carbine course as taught by Louis Awerbuck of Yavapai Firearms Academy Ltd. (YFA) and held at the Southern Exposure Training Facility in Lakeland Florida. The course description from the YFA website is as follows:

This course is designed for quick, accurate, close-range shooting as opposed to precision sniper shooting. Topics include loading and unloading, shooting from several ready positions and various tactical body positions, use of the shooting sling, shooting on the move, moving targets, dim-light shooting, barricades, and transitions to a handgun. Either iron sights or glass optics is applicable.

Due to the limitations of the facility and the late sunset we did not have a night/low-light portion of the class. Aside from that the description above proved to be spot-on and more.

Also, per the YFA website, the Training Philosophy is:

Yavapai Firearms Academy provides training encompassing gunhandling, marksmanship and tactics, the 3 basic elements of surviving a defensive confrontation. Using a firearm for DEFENSE implies REACTION to an existing threat, not an INITIATION of an action. Therefore, it is our opinion that the most crucial elements of defensive training are QUICK, REFLEXIVE gunhandling and MENTAL CONTROL. While marksmanship training is certainly necessary, it must be combined with tactics and street practical target systems and situations to allow any possibility of surviving a real-world confrontation. No one can guarantee perfect hits under stress, so training should not emphasize this aspect to the exclusion of the others. Reflexive gunhandling and mental control will leave your mind free to concentrate on SHOT PLACEMENT AND TACTICS.

To this end, we use a variety of target systems, and shooting is performed from various tactical body positions; the drills, however, are not of a strenuous physical nature. Training exercises are done from a tactical perspective. Any pressure applied to the student comes from within him/herself. While stress drills are utilized to attain maximum trainee performance on the range, the object of the exercise is to find your individual maximum potential by the end of the class - not during a later life-threatening confrontation! We, therefore, do not use a stopwatch on the range, but for your benefit, what you put in, you will get out of the courses.

This is not a run-and-gun class. The presumption is that the firearm in question, in this case the carbine, will be used in a defensive role. This places the student at an assumed disadvantage as you will always be re-acting. Louis also stressed that this reaction will always be to a visual. Yes, a sudden noise may cause you to look at the source of that noise, but only the visual will allow you to ascertain whether or not that source is a viable threat and needs shooting.

Training Day 1 (TD1) began with the usual basics. There was a bit of discussion about the above as well as an explanation of the basic goals of the course, the 4 safety rules and what they mean, etc. Eventually we moved out to the firing line and checked our zero at 25 yards. Those shooters with the AR15 platform rifles were instructed to shoot for a group 1" low at 25 yards in order to be approximately zeroed at 50 yards (see photo TD1.1 below). Louis told us this would be a close-up class and he delivered on his word, and to that end we moved in closer and examined the hold-over for each rifle to give each shooter an opportunity to get a sense of where they needed to hold at various distances to get hits where they wanted them. We did not move past 25 yards until TD3 and even then only briefly. The remainder of TD1 was spent on general weapon manipulations such as speed reloads as well as shooting on the move laterally. Louis presented the typical shuffle-step lateral movement but also turning your feet and doing heel-toe if that works for you.

Louis uses a target which has a brown and tan camouflage pattern which makes it difficult to ascertain the "kill zone". If you have trained with 10-8 Consulting, Randy Cain, Pat Rogers, etc. they all use similar types of targets. After the initial zero and up until TD3 we used these same targets for the duration. All shots were expected to be within 8" in the center chest and 4" in the ocular cavity. Shot placement is everything, and three dimensional shot placement would become the strongest theme of the class as we went on. The targets can be seen in the background of photo TD1.2 below.

TD1.1

TD1.2

Training Day 2 (TD2) began again with the same targets, bu they were now curved to more closely simulate the curvature of a real human (see TD3.1 photo below). Now the shooter was expected to keep the shots in half the area of TD1 (2" for head and 4" for body), but more importantly was being able to think in terms of "deep hits" (as Louis calls them) and think about where a shot would wind up when placed on a human target that is turned at an angle to the shooter. This was accomplished by again using shooting on the move such that the angles at which we were engaging the targets shifted. Once we practiced this for awhile, the targets themselves were turned at approximately 45 degrees to the firing line (see photo TD3.2 below). Now with the movement and the angle of the targets, getting "deep hits" became yet another factor in shot placement in addition to thinking of hold-over and shooting on the move.

TD2 also introduced the transition. There were a couple of details of the transition block of instruction that differed from what I've learned other places. The first is that Louis prefers to engage the manual safety as part of the transition. I have always learned to simply get the secondary up and into the fight if the primary goes down, but Louis also views the transition as something that may need to be done for other reasons (like needing a hand free to manipulate a threat or some other obstacle). In video TD2.3 below you can see me engage the safety as I transition to the handgun. Since there are reasons other than failure of the primary to transition to the secondary, we also worked on the reverse (see video TD2.4 below).

Later in the day, the targets were also rotated 30 degrees or so off the vertical. This can also be seen at the end of Video TD2.4 below. This added yet another factor into the quest for "deep hits" and yet another thing to think about while trying to engage the targets. Now a shot to the collarbone area that might be "merely a flesh wound" when facing a target straight on could become the proverbial "one shot stop" depending on body angle.

TD2 ended with moving targets. First each shooter engaged a laterally moving target singly (see Video TD2.5 below). The mover was randomly controlled by Louis while the shooter tried to track and engage with a single head shot. Follow-through was key and many a shooter dropped the shot into the neck area due to pulling the sites down too quickly to check the hit. From there we moved to shooting the drill in pairs, and Lois added two non-threat targets behind. Now you had the pressure of time (shooting against someone else) and the potential for shoot-throughs into non-threats (see Video TD2.6 below).

TD2.1

TD2.2

Training Day 3 (TD3) began a little differently than the previous two. We were fortunate enough to have a surgeon in the class that began TD3 with an hour or so of lecture and then question and answer period. This discussion focused on basic anatomy, desired internal organs that one should target, and external markers to achieve that shot placement dependent on angle of the target. It was truly enlightening and we were fortunate to have the Dr. in class.

Moving out to the firing line we were faced with a whole new target (see photo TD3.1 and TD3.2 below) in the form of photo-realistic threat targets; some holding weapons, some wearing body armor, some behind cover, some with hostages, etc. These targets were also curved, turned 45 degrees horizontally and 30 degrees vertically. We began with again engaging the targets at distances under 25 yards and shooting on the move laterally. We then moved out past 25 yards and covered alternative positions such as kneeling and sitting for engaging targets from a better braced position.

Just before lunch we moved out to 50 and 100 yards to give each shooter the opportunity to confirm their zero at these distances by shooting at a 10" round plate. Many shooters, myself included, opted to shoot from sitting at 50 but all went to prone at 100.

After lunch we returned to the same photo-realistic targets but arranged in two rows of 5 targets each (see Photo TD3.3 below). We were then each assigned a target in the array and instructed to shoot our target, and only our target, while moving laterally, and getting good "deep hits". From there we moved into engaging the same array while on the move laterally and fore and aft. This drill was conducted one shooter at a time with Louis shouting out the direction you were to move after assigning one "threat" target among the array of 10 with the balance of the targets identified as non-threats. Each shooter performed one speed-reload with the carbine and one transition to the handgun, finishing with a single shot to the head of the threat target when Louis tapped the shooter on the head. See Video TD3.4 below.

Finally Louis brought out a randomly moving hostage target. We began by engaging the single threat with a single head shot while avoiding the single non-threat (see Video TD3.5 below). Once each shooter had performed this drill, we paired up and Louis added two more 3D non-threats, a laterally-moving camo non-threat behind that, and two stationary camo non-threats beyond that (see Video TD3.6 below).

TD3.1

TD3.2

TD3.3

VIDEO TD3.4

VIDEO TD3.5

VIDEO TD3.6

General Lessons
1) Louis really stresses shot placement. I know what you're thinking; "yeah so does everyone else." No, not like this. What Louis is looking for is those "deep hits" whereby you get the projectile to good fight-stopping organs. This really requires you to think three-dimensionally about your target. You're not shooting for the ocular cavity or the "center mass", you're shooting for that little golf-ball that exists behind the ocular cavity and between the ears, and that little baseball that exists behind the breast bone and between the armpits. Which isn't to say that you only shoot at these things, or that only these things will stop the fight (the Doc covered lots of other juicy places to try and hit if you get the chance). If all he gives you is a hip, shoot the hell out of the hip. Do what you have to do to stop the fight, but in a perfect world you're aiming for the golfball and the baseball.

2) Louis talks about how things will happen "on the street" a lot. Yes, it's all well and good to aim for the golf-ball and the baseball, but you may not get that opportunity and you almost certainly aren't going to be thinking clearly enough to hit hit them all the time. "Go for meat". In other words, if you can't make that 1% shot to the brain, shoot him in the chest. If he isn't presenting his chest but is still threatening you or yours then shoot him in the meatiest part that you can get sights on, and keep shooting him until he stops being a threat.

Personal Lesson
1) I find that I get better hits shooting on the move by moving heel-toe no matter what direction I'm moving. In the "moving/yelling/shooting" drill I found that always moving in the same manner helped me to maintain a stable firing platform and get good hits. When shuffle-stepping laterally I find that I bob up and down and pause at the point that my feet come together, taking the shot from that point every time.

2) Dry-fire practice is non-negotiable. The ability to perform reloads, transitions, weapon manipulations etc. are key in keeping up speed and not having to fight your gear. Many people were surprised at how quickly I was able to speed-reload the AK, but that is thanks entirely to dry-fire practice at home. Yes, training classes are a good place to learn the techniques but you have to take those techniques home with you and perfect them. The lessons I learned in the Randy Cain AK Operator's course I took in January, combined with the practice in the 4 months since then, showed in the way I was able to manipulate my primary.

Gear Lessons
1) The AK is a perfectly viable fighting gun for me, with a few minor tweaks. You can read more about my AK that I ran here, but in short I used a Lancaster AK47 in 7.62x39 with an Aimpoint Micro H-1 attached to an Ultimak rail, a Jtac47 muzzle break, a Blackjack Swift safety lever, a Tapco SAW pistol grip and a Blue Force Gear Vickers two-point sling. I ran Wolf ammo and Bulgarian waffle mags. I had no ammo or rifle issues during the entire course and did not so much as lube the firearm after the day before TD1. I was not the fastest guy on the line but I was far from the slowest. The AK has certain limitations but a lot of them can be overcome with proper dry-fire practice of things like speed reloads, tac-loads, transition, running the bolt, etc.

2) The Warren tactical fiber optic sights for the Glock kick ass. There's just no other way to put it. Doubly so when running the Glock as a secondary to a carbine with a red dot optic. You drop your primary where you were sighting with a red dot and retrieve your secondary to sight with, that's right, a red dot. Perfectly smooth seamless transition. I do still get better, faster, hits with my 1911 but the Glock is obviously more than serviceable.

3) Minimalist chest rigs are the way to go for training classes. I have been running a chest rig with my primary weapon since Spectre Gear was still called CQB Solutions and I ran one of their rigs with a FAL. I still prefer a speed load magazine on the belt for when the primary goes dry and you aren't going to transition, but having the low-profile and simple chest rig to feed the gun at tac-loads and the belt after speed loads is key for me. In this class I ran a custom AK-specific chest rig made by Diz. You can read more about that rig, and some of the tweaking I think it needs, here. Quite a few guys were running cumbersome vests, and Cammelbacks, and all manner of other gear but I'm not running out to battle and don't frankly need a blow-out kit, hydration, food for 3 days, etc. all strapped to my body. A chest rig allows me to "train like I would fight" in that if I ever grab my carbine the best I'm going to be able to hope for is a spare magazine in a rear pocket.

Observational Lessons
1) As mentioned in #3 above, way too many people show up with way too much gear strapped to their bodies. It slows them down, it impedes their draw stroke for their secondary, it gets hot, it takes too long to put on and take off, etc. Not to mention the amount of time many of these people spend on the line adjusting their gear and wondering why their hydration system isn't working. You need to be able to not slow down the class, but be situationally aware enough to know the class you're coming to. When you get an email prior to class saying "600 rounds rifle, 100 rounds pistol" for a three day class, you can get an idea of what you're going to need for ammo carriage. See the photo below of the two shooters talking between strings. Neither of these guys held up the line and both were among the best shooters in the class.

I cannot stress enough what a great experience this class was. I truly felt like I learned something with every shot fired. I've read other AARs where students made that same claim and then went on to talk about shooting 2k rounds in 3 days. I find that hard to believe. Louis really and truly makes you account for every shot, and just when you thought you got away with something because he was at the other end of the line, he'd stroll down to you and say "you dropped one in the shoulder". We shot approximately 600 rounds in three days. Sounds like nothing, but when each and every squeeze of the trigger is educational it's a huge amount of learning to absorb.

The 4 hour drive home is always where things really hit me and sink in. This is where I came up with the golf-ball and baseball analogy. Now I'm just trying to think of a way to design a reactive target for our matches that make use of this new understanding.

GENERAL PHOTOS

Class Photo