Pat Goodale – Practical Firearms Training (PGPFT) Tactical Rifle AAR

Posted on by donnorum

[Same introduction, note, and disclaimer as before.]

Ammunition (5.56x45mm NATO):

  • M193: Standard 55-gr ball cartridge, good for bulk shooting / practice.
  • Mk262: 77-gr Sierra MatchKing, good long-range performance, match-quality (and price)
  • Mk318: 62-gr, USMC standard. Hunting bullet – Open Tip Match Rear Penetrator (OTMRP) (62 gr. Federal Fusion).
  • M855A1: US Army “green” round (lead-free). Politicized development & adoption process.

Manufacturers:

  • Entry Level: M&P Sport
  • Low-Medium: Rock River Arms, Anderson
  • High-Midrange: BCM, Colt
  • Premium: Daniel Defense, LWRC

Sights:

  • Red dots need adjustments to avoid vanishing (too weak) or ‘blooming’ (too strong) depending on lighting conditions.
  • Red dot sights tend to ‘fuzz out’ (astigmatism) with (shooter’s) age.
  • Low-Power Variable Scopes
    • 1x-4x, 1x-5x, 1x-6x, etc.
    • Used by lots of military special forces
    • Have the lowest magnification as the initial & default. Once on target, then ramp it up – otherwise, like searching through a straw.
    • Throw levers can make the magnification adjustment significantly easier.
  • Expect scope + mount to be ~½ of cost of rifle. (LaRue mounts.)
  • With good quality mounts (indexed and repeatable) can hot-swap between red dot and scope.


Posture and Procedure:

  • Position (posture?), Aiming, Breathing, Trigger – Four (4) fundamentals of hitting the target.
    • Nose slightly forward of toes so that stance balances recoil. Body is leaned forward, not as upright as with handguns. (May’ve just been us, yesterday.)
    • Think about wringing out a towel – right hand and arm rotate rifle clockwise, left hand applies counterclockwise torque for isometric hold.
    • Consistency is key.
    • Ready position is about 45 degrees down and forward, stock pressed into the fulcrum of the shoulder.
    • The safety comes off as the gun comes up to a firing position – the right thumb almost automatically flicks it to ‘Fire’ before returning to the grip.
    • Trigger reset – as you press/squeeze the trigger it passes through four (4) points – it starts at its most-forward position (A), passes through the reset point (B), breaks (C), and then bottoms out (D). When shooting strings, the trick is to just move between (B) and (C), instead of all the way (A) to (D) – not only is this faster, but it’s less movement, so you can stay more accurate. (I.e., when letting up on the trigger after a shot, if you’re going to shoot again immediately, only let the trigger go far enough to reset for the next shot.)
    • After firing, lower the gun slightly (¼ down, to a high ready – not all the way to a ready) – and scan. Then safe the rifle and go down to ready. Right hand may need to disengage from the grip to swipe the safety on, but web of hand stays in contact with the top of the backstrap.
    • Whenever you change heights, scan again and re-assess surroundings. So if prone, once you’re done shooting:
      • Scan.
      • Up to double-kneeling, scan.
      • Up to single-leg kneel, scan.
      • Stand, scan, and then safe and hang.
    • The dust cover can be closed once the rifle is safe, before returning it to the low ready – this is a military habit, especially when operating in environments with lots of airborne particulates. (I.e., helicopters or trucks in the desert.)
    • When moving in close quarters (building entry, etc.) rifle can be lowered further and rolled so that the right palm faces in. Stock should still be in strong shoulder contact.
    • Four (4) points of contact – Stock @ shoulder, Right hand @ grip, Left hand @ fore-end, Cheek @ top of stock.
      • Left hand anywhere from front of magwell to C-clamp behind front sight. Farther out = faster / stronger pans left and right.
  • Kneeling:
    • One knee down or two. To drop into a double-kneeling position, just squat down and rock forward – toes stay about on line. For kneeling with one knee up, step the right foot back (I think, vs. forward) and kneel on the right knee.
      • One knee up can also be used for a supported position, where the left elbow is either right in front of or right behind the left knee (to get bone-on-bone without round-on-round). I think that the Cadre also sat back a bit on the right foot & leg when supported for more bone-on-bone structure (vs. muscle) but I’m not 100%.
      • To get up from one knee, use the left quad to stand up as you bring the right foot back forward.
      • To get up from two knees, step the left foot up to a single-leg kneeling and then use that leg to stand up and step back – so that you end up back on the exact line where you started.
  • Prone:
    • ‘Military’ (IIRC):
      • Flat on your belly, legs as wide as possible, toes pointed out so that the insides of your ankles against the ground. As much ground contact as possible. Gun pointed straight forward.
    • ‘Olympic’ (IIRC):
      • Same as military prone, but support-side leg is drawn up and bent slightly, and the body may be slightly off to the left of the line of the gun. Allows a bit more maneuvering around obstacles / cover.
        • N.B.: I’ve seen Olympic prone a lot of other places with the firing-side leg drawn up and bent slightly, so it’s possible I’m misremembering this.
    • Getting to prone:
      • Drop to a double-kneeling position.
      • Left hand comes off of the rifle. As you rock your upper body forward, the left hand plants on the ground underneath where the center of your chest will end up and lets you ‘float’ the gun as you lie down. Rifle stays planted on the shoulder and pointed forward and horizontal.
        • Don’t kick your legs backwards – you go forward and down into prone. That said, if the two people on either side of you happen to kick their legs back and you’d end up with a muzzle brake by each ear if you went forward, then you can adjust as needed for safe shooting.
        • I think mention was made of tucking the stock of heavier, larger-caliber (308+) rifles underneath the right shoulder to help control and support them one-handed as you go to prone.
    • Leaving prone:
      • Place your left hand in the middle of your chest.
      • Push up and go back to a double-kneeling. Proceed to standing from there.
  • Manipulations:
    • DON’T RUN THE GUN IN FREE SPACE. Always anchor the gun (stock to shoulder).
    • Manipulation position is the same as the ready position but rolled to 2 o’clock / 8 o’clock.
  • Clearing:
    • Pull the charging handle back and watch the round fall free of the gun.
    • Visually inspect the ejection port – no round in the chamber, nothing stuck on the bolt face, nothing in the magazine well.
    • Release the charging handle and then work it vigorously three (3) times.
    • Point the gun 45 degrees down towards the ground downrange (i.e., ready) and dry fire to kill the trigger.

Reloading:

  • 20-rounders can be held and inserted just like a pistol magazine with the forefinger along the spine.
  • 30-rounders held low and like a beer can (‘beer can’ grip).
  • Whenever inserting a magazine, tap the bottom and then tug the magazine to make sure it’s fully seated.
  • Preferred Administrative Loading:
    • (Starting with a completely ‘dry’ gun.)
    • Check that the topmost round in the magazine is on the right. (This can also be done by feel if dark.)
    • Insert the magazine.
    • Use the left thumb and forefinger to work the charging handle.
    • Drop the magazine.
    • Check that the topmost round in the magazine is now on the left.
    • Re-insert the magazine.
    • Gun is now live – safe and hang.
  • Military Loading:
    • (Starting with a completely ‘dry’ gun.)
    • Ignoring the top of the magazine, insert a magazine and work the charging handle.
    • Switch hands to support the gun with the left hand in front of the magazine and roll the gun to 10 o’clock / 4 o’clock.
    • With the right pointer and middle fingers in a ‘slingshot’ grip, pull the charging handle back just enough to see brass between the bolt face and the chamber.
    • Release the charging handle.
    • Use the forward assist (FA) to positively re-engage the chamber seal.
    • More motion, requires visual inspection, breaks chamber, etc. Not recommended. Also, some guns may not have forward assists.

Magazines:

  • 20s have merit
  • Recommend downloading by two (2) rounds – lower pressure on magazine spring / feed lips, preserves left/right double-stacking for chambering verification.
  • Count rounds as you load (don’t just load ‘til it won’t go no more) – it’s possible (i.e. someone, somehow, has done it) to fit 31 or even 32 rounds into a magazine.

Sling:

  • Tactical sling holds the rifle (muzzle) down and in front. Free-hanging (administrative carry mode), stock should be about your nipple line in front of your chest. When you bring it up to fire, you bring the gun up to your head/shoulder – your eyes stay on the target.
  • Blue Force Gear Vickers Sling (https://www.blueforcegear.com/slings/weapon-slings) recommended, IIRC. (Def. BFG, think this sling specifically.)
  • To put on, hold the rifle by the stock in your right hand, muzzle down, and put your left arm through the sling so it goes under your left arm and around your neck. To take off, either reverse the process or hook your left elbow clockwise around so that the sling is just around your neck, then lift it off.

Movement & Administrative:

  • When moving with the gun hanging, can grab the stock to keep it from swinging too much.
  • If you have to pick something up, don’t bend over – grab the stock with your left hand and lift the gun / keep it vertical (muzzle well above the ground) as you squat down and pick it up with your right hand.
  • Rifles must be fully cleared before they go on the rack.

Administrative Range Work:

  • Gear up, practice manipulations dry, then zero with 5-shot strings from prone.
  • 50-yard / 200-yard zero, i.e., bullet crosses sight line on an upward angle at about 50 yards, reaches maximum ordinate in-between, and then crosses sight line again at about 200 yards. (Zero @ 50 yards.)
  • First string, walking up to inspect. Second round of zeroing (if needed) instructors provide line calls.

 

Position / Snap Drill (Series):

Setup:

  • Target 50 yards in front of shooter.
  • Shooter begins in low ready.

Execution:

  • On “Threat!”, the shooter brings the rifle up to their shoulder, assumes a firing position, and snaps off two (2) shots on the target.

Notes:

  • This is a progressive drill – changes in position and reloads are added around the pairs as the drill progresses. The first time may be two (2) shots standing, then the second time is two (2) shots standing / reload / two (2) shots standing, all the way up to a multi-position, multi-reload series like two (2) shots standing / reload / two (2) shots kneeling / reload / two (2) shots prone.
  • Standard – no matter the speed, distance, position, etc. – is all shots within a handsbreadth.

 

Malfunction Clearance:

  • Type 1 Malfunction (AKA ‘Immediate Action’)
    • Failure-to-fire or failure-to-eject. (Sometimes broken up into Type 1 and Type 2 respectively, with a double feed as a Type 3, but whether it’s a stovepipe or some other form of FTE the remedial action is the same as for an FTF, so grouped together here.)
    • TAP
      • Tap (firmly) the bottom of the magazine to seat it fully.
    • TUG
      • Tug the bottom of the magazine to make sure it’s seated fully.
    • WORK
      • Work the charging handle to eject any dud round and/or chamber a new round.
    • If the above tap-tug-work doesn’t (work), progress to dealing with a Type 2 malfunction.
  • Type 2 Malfunction (AKA ‘Remedial Action’)
    • Double-feed or other ‘advanced’ error.
    • LOCK
      • Lock the bolt to the rear to remove pressure from the magazine spring / top round.
    • RIP
      • Rip the magazine out of the gun. Practice retaining the magazine (tucking it under the right armpit works well) in case it’s your last/only magazine, but (I would assume) letting it drop and performing an emergency reload after you work-work-work would be another option.
    • WORK-WORK-WORK
      • Work the charging handle three times, remembering that the gun will be in your workspace, i.e. slightly raised and rotated inward (2 o’clock / 8 o’clock), ejection port forward and down to ease… ejection of any offending cartridge(s).
    • After you’ve done the above, replace the magazine (with the retained magazine or (see above) a fresh one) and progress to the standard tap-tug-work to get the gun running again.
    • Alternately, if the above doesn’t work (I think if you don’t see the rounds flying out as you work it, but I can’t remember the criteria for sure) you can reach up inside the magazine well and try to wiggle the stuck rounds loose – commonly done if it’s a double-partial feed, i.e. two rounds battling it out to chamber.
  • Mortar
    • The bolt is locked up so that you can’t work the charging handle for either immediate or remedial action. Commonly occurs on a stuck (bulged) case – ejector has a grip, but the case itself is stuck and so locks the bolt in place off of the ejector.
    • Remove the magazine and fully collapse the stock (if applicable).
    • Kneel on your right knee.
    • Pointing the rifle 45 degrees up, hold it with your left hand below the fore-end / around the front of the magazine well and use your pointer and middle finger on your right hand to pull on the charging handle.
    • Raise the rifle up and bring it back down, pulling on the charging handle to drive it back – still along that same 45 degree line – until the stock hits the ground and all of the force is focused on working the charging handle and bolt.
    • Continue on with work-work-work and the rest of the remedial action needed to get the gun up and running.
  • If you notice that you end up with a floating charging handle after doing immediate action, go right into remedial action.
  • If you find yourself having to do too much hand-jive with a magazine when inserting it, grab it lower. Specifically, on remedial-action malfunction clearances, rather than grabbing around the base of the magazine well as you pull the magazine free (and thus forcing you to shift your grip before or as you re-insert it) grab lower so that it can fully seat when you replace it, no grip change required.
  • When doing remedial-action malfunction clearances (or I would assume anything else that involves retaining a magazine) from a single-kneeling position, rather than reaching around underneath to stow it under your right arm or dropping it to (and then having to pick it up from) the ground, pull the up leg back just enough that you can tuck it behind that knee.
  • As you’re doing a remedial-action malfunction clearance, if you notice that the top round in the magazine (whether or not it’s fully seated and a dud / dented, partially out, sticking out the top, etc.) is FUBARed, use the front of the magwell to knock it free before re-inserting that magazine. (Don’t use the side of the magwell, as there’s a chance, especially if you’ve rotated the rifle clockwise, of having the knocked-out round bounce into the gun.)
  • Similar to the above, I would assume that if you notice the magazine is empty during the malfunction clearance, you switch to an emergency reload.

 

Malfunction Clearance (Drill):

Notes:

  • Derived from the above Position / Snap Drill Series:
    • Using a doctored magazine (about 1-to-2 dud ratio, same as for pistols).
    • Only two (2) shots each call, from a variety of positions (standing, kneeling, prone (though I don’t recall doing malfunction clearance from the prone)).
    • If encountering a visible malfunction after the second shot in the string, fix the malfunction before returning to ready.

 

Running with the Rifle:

  • Short distances: Both hands push forward with the rifle, tensioning the sling around your upper body. Otherwise the same as regular ready, but it frees the stock from your shoulder, enabling you to keep the gun stable as you move.
  • Long distances: Slip the stock underneath your armpit, shifting the right hand to hold around the magwell or fore-end (I think, I can’t remember the specific position). This allows you to adopt a more natural running gait for longer distances. The muzzle will move more when you hold it like this, but it should stay pointed in front and angled down. (Just changing how much down angle it has throughout each stride.)

 

Run-Up Drill:

Setup:

  • Target about 50 yards away from the staging point.
  • Shooter grounds their rifle at the staging point (muzzle downrange, ejection port side up) in Condition 3 / Israeli Carry / Cruiser Ready (no round chambered, hammer down, full magazine in place).
  • Shooter begins 25+ yards behind the staging point.

Execution:

  • On “Threat!” the shooter runs from the starting point up to the staging point. They ready the gun by working the charging handle and deliver two (2) hits on the target.

Notes:

  • Introduced on this exercise but applicable in general – three (3) misses from one position (standing, kneeling unsupported, kneeling supported, prone, etc.) trigger a move to a more stable firing position. I.e., if you miss thrice while standing, kneel before your next shot, and so on.
    • I don’t know if kneeling supported vs. unsupported is considered here, or if standing to prone is an acceptable transition. For purposes of the course, it seemed as if it were standing-kneeling (any)-prone, one ‘level’ of elevation at a time.

 

Kneeling Rest Position:

  • If waiting for an extended period of time (i.e., if shooting is neither ongoing nor imminent), and especially if wearing a large amount of heavy gear, the kneeling rest position is very useful. Same as single-leg kneeling with the left knee up, but the upper body is leaned slightly forward and the left elbow / forearm is rested on the left thigh. Gun stays in a ready position, but all weight should be supported by static bone-on-bone instead of via muscular tension.

 

Group Movement Drill:

Setup:

  • Target is set up about 100 yards away from a shooting position marked by a cone, rock, or other landmark in open surroundings.
  • Staging point is set up back and to the right of the shooting position.
  • A clear path is available to loop back around from the shooting position to the staging point.
  • An instructor controls the exercise from the shooting point; one or more instructors (as numbers require) accompany the shooters during the group iterations.

Execution:

  • The shooters line up at the staging point in a kneeling rest position.
  • The controlling instructor indicates how many shooters to send (1, 2, etc. fingers held up) and from which side of the line (with a sweep of the hand) and starts the exercise with a hand signal (chop).
  • On the instructor’s signal, the designated shooters rise and proceed in line to the shooting point. They need to stay in line, adjusting speed so that no-one drifts ahead or falls back, but the goal is still to get to the shooting point as quickly as possible. Depending on the relative angles of staging point, shooting point, and target, the line may have to wheel around to one side or the other as it moves into position.
  • Once the line is in position, each shooter delivers two (2) hits onto the target. (I can’t remember if there was a designated call to open fire once at the shooting point.)
  • When everyone has scored their hits and the rifles are safed and returned to low ready, the line verbally confirms that everyone is ready to move, and the whole group returns as quickly as possible, while staying in a closed-up single-file line, to the line at the staging point and resumes a kneeling rest position in line.

Notes:

  • When we did this exercise it was essentially common-consensus as to when to move, when everyone was done shooting, etc. One person might lead, but there wasn’t a specific leader, although I’d imagine there certainly could be a designated leader and a more specific set of calls specified.
  • Similarly, no specific calls (“Ready on left”, “clear”, “all clear?”, “moving”, etc.) were specified, although the instructors were mixed in so that things stayed safe and sane.

 

Offsets:

  • For most AR rifles, the height-over-bore of the sights is about 2.6”. Zeroing at 50/200 yards means that at close (<10 yard) ranges, the bullet will impact substantially below the point of aim.
  • For most purposes, this won’t matter. If it’s a small target at 50-200 yards, sights should be right on. If it’s a big target close, the offset will be small compared to the center-of-mass target. But for close-range precision (‘precision’) shots, to a head or a small portion of visible assailant, for example, the offset is crucial.

 

Offset Drill:

Setup:

  • One target 10 yards in front of the shooter.

Execution:

  • Shooter fires three (3) shots into the center of a 3” circle in the #3 (head) area of the target. They ignore where the shots actually hit, and concentrate on keeping the point of aim dead center of the circle.
  • Comparing the point of impact to the point of aim, the shooter makes a mental note of what their offset is, i.e., at close ranges they note that they need to aim 1” / 2” / 3” etc. above the actual target.
  • Shooter fires (3) shots mentally adjusting for the offset (i.e. Arkansas elevation) in order to hit as close as possible to the center of the 3” circle.

 

Hammer Drills:

Setup:

  • One target 10 yards in front of the shooter.

Execution:

  • On “Threat!”, the shooter raises the rifle to a firing position and fires the given number of shots on the target as quickly and smoothly as possible without pausing. E.g., the instructor might say, “Three hits… Threat!” for three (3) hits on target as quickly as possible.

Notes:

  • This was done for 2, 3, 4, etc. hits all the way up to the remainder of the magazine.
  • “Nose before toes” – to manage recoil, lean forward in your stance so that your nose is ahead of your toes. Shoulders and upper back should be engaged and almost folding forward around the rifle. Especially important firing larger calibers (.308+). (Some high-speed/high-caliber shooters almost stumble forward when they’re dry, they’re so far into the gun.)
  • Pauses in a string (BANG-BANG-BANG, BANG-BANG) often indicate that the shooter isn’t managing recoil well – their first shots are pushing them off target and they’re having to pause to reacquire their stance / sights.
  • For speed (and just good practice) focus on bringing the rifle and sights up to the head and eyes. The rifle should be the only thing that needs to move to begin firing.

 

Rifle Retention:

  • Larger / longer than a handgun, longer lever arm, more non-muzzle portions to grab all mean that a rifle is at a greater risk of being grabbed than a handgun.
  • If the rifle is slung, then if someone grabs the rifle they not only control the gun, they control you via the sling wrapped around your torso.
  • The rifle retention position also allows the shooter to keep the gun ready and pointed in the direction of the target with one arm without excessive fatigue (especially relevant for larger, heavier guns).
  • Retention Position:
    • Right hand is about where it would be with a handgun in retention – same roll of the gun.
    • Stock of the gun is underneath the right arm – the rotation of the gun should allow the stock to ‘catch’ the shooter’s back. Right arm is clamped down on the top of the stock, holding it in to the side.
    • Secure position when done right-hand only. Left hand if available holds in the normal position along the fore-end.
  • If the attacker has a strong hold on the gun, and a muzzle strike (see below) isn’t an option, the shooter can simply kneel, allowing the attacker’s hold on the muzzle to pivot the gun to aim up towards them.

 

One-Handed Retention Drill:

Scenario:

  • The shooter has an assailant held at gunpoint while they communicate with 911 on the phone. Because of the need to hold the phone and the close range of the assailant, the rifle is held in a one-handed retention position.
  • The assailant attacks (reaching for the gun, drawing a knife, etc.) and the shooter must react.

Setup:

  • Target only a few yards in front of the shooter.
  • Shooter begins with left hand near head as if on the phone, rifle retained one-handed on their right side.

Execution:

  • On “Threat!”, the shooter delivers two (2) hits to the target from the retention position, keeping their left hand positioned as if holding a phone.

Notes:

  • The very short range is what allows the literal shooting from the hip, and necessitates the retention to begin with.

 

Muzzle Strike Drill (w/ & w/out Hammer Pair):

Scenario:

  • The shooter has an assailant held at gunpoint. Because of the close range of the assailant, the rifle is held in a retention position.
  • The assailant attempts to move in on the shooter, and is dissuaded with a muzzle strike. Depending on their response, it may be necessary to shoot them at that point.

Setup:

  • Target only a yard in front of the shooter.
  • Shooter begins with the rifle in a retention position.

Execution:

  • On “Threat!”, the shooter delivers a two-handed muzzle-strike to the center of the target, shouting “Get back!”.
  • When done with a hammer pair, the two (2) shots are fired immediately after the shout and strike.

Notes:

  • When including the hammer pair, this can generally only be done once or so per target.
  • Muzzle Strike:
    • Thrust the gun forwards and out with both arms, ending up with the left arm fully extended and the right arm almost so, like a spear. Aim squarely for the center of the target / chest.
    • When shooting a controlled pair immediately after the muzzle strike, due to the extreme close range and time constraints, the pair may be shot ‘in space’ – with the gun still pushed forward with both arms, the buttstock floating well forward of the shoulder.

 

Barricade Cover Drill:

Setup:

  • Four (4) steel targets set up in a row with about 5-10 yards between them.
  • 50 yards in front of each target is a piece of cover. From left-to-right:
    • Two (2) pieces of vertical cover
    • Ascending barricade
    • Descending barricade
  • Shooters begin stacked up 5-7 yards back from the line of cover.
  • An instructor is stationed at each piece of cover.

Execution:

  • On “Threat!”, the first shooter moves to the first piece of cover on the far left. They must score two (2) hits, twice, on the first target from the left side of the piece of cover – two (2) hits standing, then two (2) hits kneeling.
  • As soon as they have scored their hits, the shooter moves to the right to the next piece of cover. The second shooter in line then moves to the first piece of cover, and so on in a waterfall/cascading type of pattern through the exercise.
  • At the second piece of vertical cover, the shooter must score the same two (2) sets of two (2) hits, this time from the right side of the cover.
  • At the ascending barricade, the shooter starts at the topmost step and must score two (2) hits from there. They then move down the steps until they’re shooting around the side of the bottom step, for a total of five (5) sets of two (2) hits from each position.
  • At the descending barricade, the same series of five (5) sets of two (2) hits from each position is required, starting at the top and again working down.
  • Once the last set of hits has been achieved, the shooter manages their ammo behind the last barricade before scanning and reassessing one final time.

Notes:

  • When shooting from the same side of a piece of cover (such as the two vertical barricades), there’s no need to return to full cover before assuming the next position. If the first position is standing right and the second is kneeling right, then – assuming you made the shots – you can just kneel along that side without moving away, kneeling, and then moving back. (Tactical repositioning applies when you’re shooting and not hitting the target(s), here.)
  • If you don’t have a free-floating fore-end, then you need to put something soft (i.e., your hand) between the handguard and the hard cover – otherwise, the force transmitted to the barrel can cause a deflection in the point of impact for a given point of aim.
  • Absolutely use the cover for support.
  • When shooting around the side of vertical cover, place the inside hand firmly against the cover, leaning your weight into it. Then use that thumb and the side of the forefinger as a notch to rest the rifle in.
    • You might need / it might work out best to switch hands depending on which side of the vertical cover you’re shooting from – right handed around the right side, left around the left.
  • Shooting over top of horizontal cover, again make sure that there’s something soft (if necessary) between the barrel/handguard touching the barrel and the cover itself.

 

100 Yard Plate Rack Drill:

Setup:

  • Plate rack with six (6) plates set up 100 yards from the shooter.

Execution:

  • On “Threat!” (timer starts), the shooter engages the plate rack in order from left-to-right. Three (3) failed attempts at a single plate triggers a shift to a more stable position. (I.e., if the shooter misses three (3) times standing, they must take a kneeling position before continuing. If they miss three (3) times from a kneel, they must go prone.)
  • Once a plate is down, if the shooter had adopted a kneeling or prone position, they reset to standing for the next plate in the rack.
  • Timer stops when the final plate is down.

Notes:

  • Par time is three (3) minutes.

 

Rifle Tower:

Setup:

  • Shooter begins just behind the rifle tower. The target (12” steel square) is approximately 160 yards away.

Execution:

  • On “Threat!” (timer starts), the shooter makes their way to the tower and, starting at position #1, delivers two (2) hits to the target. An instructor calls hits and, if necessary, clock-face impact calls. The shooter then delivers two (2) hits from position #2 on the tower, and so on, until the timer stops.

Notes:

  • Three (3) minutes to get as far through the progression as you can.
    • New this year, but season record (April to October) was 14.
    • Tower is a platform with stairs going up the back of it. The top has a large hole in the middle, and the front wall underneath the hole/platform has various cutouts. Positions are numbered 1-17 (18?).
  • Positions:
  1. Middle of the stairs, shooting over the top from behind.
  2. Right side of the platform, shooting over the top from behind.
  3. Left side of the platform, shooting over the top from behind.
  4. Left front of the top of the platform.
  5. Right front of the top of the platform.
  6. Middle front of the top of the platform, standing in the hole.
  7. (Gets fuzzy here) Left-leaning cutout.
  8. Upper left of the ‘down-staircase’ cutout.
  9. Middle left.
  10. Lower left.
  11. Lower right.
  12. Middle right.
  13. Upper right.
  14. Right-leaning cutout.
  15. Overlapping circles cutout?
  16. Horizontal slot cutout?
  • When canting the rifle to the side, aim to whichever side of the target the magazine floorplate is pointing. (So canting to the left, aim to the right and vice versa.)
  • Rifle must be safed whenever moving, i.e., between positions.

 

Woodland Scrambler (Rifle):

Setup:

  • A serpentine course winds through the woods. The target is a steel Fat Boy – distance to target will vary from ~200 to ~150 yards depending on shooting station.
  • Shooter begins slightly back from the first position.

Execution:

  • On “Threat!” (timer starts), the shooter moves to the first position. Using whichever stance they prefer, they deliver two (2) hits to the target. (Instructor calls hits.) After delivering two (2) hits, they move to the next shooting position and so on.
  • The timer stops once the second hit has been delivered from the eighth position.

Notes:

  • Par time is three (3) minutes.
  • When moving, rifle doesn’t have to be slung, but must be controlled and aimed downrange at all times.
  • Rifle must be safed whenever moving, i.e., between positions.
  • Shooter must fire from within about six feet (2 yards) of each marked position.
  • Positions:
  1. Basically a flat area of leaves with a small rock and stump on one side.
  2. A thin (~3”) tree.
  3. A large rock with a fallen tree leaning against it.
  4. A larger-diameter tree (?)
  5. A low ridge of rocks (?)
  6. More rocks?
  7. Maybe another tree?
  8. A tree next to a big rock forming a natural pocket with a notch between the tree and the rock.
  • The course did a figure-S, moving to the right from position 1 past 2, looping around to head towards 3 (shooter has to go under the fallen tree), up and turning back to the right near position 4, and then to the right along the treeline for the remaining positions 5-8.

 

Final Exercise (ALL The Steel):

For a final exercise, everyone loaded up one magazine with twenty-eight (28) rounds. (Or two mags if you had an M1A.) On “Threat!”, you had sixty (60) seconds (M1A shooters got an additional ten (10) seconds to account for the mag change) to put one (1) hit on each of as many of the steel targets spread around the range. 34 steel targets total, ranging from silhouettes maybe 30 yards downrange to gophers a hundred yards or more up the hill. Standing, prone, near to far, left to right – shooter’s choice for how to engage.

Sounds:

  • As the last thing on the day, and because of the recent Vegas concert shooting, we went inside the shoot-house berm with Pat Goodale and some of the cadre fired into the hillside above us with various rounds, so that we could hear the different sounds. As expected, bigger / faster rounds made a bigger muzzle noise, bigger splash, louder thump (hitting dirt about the same sound as a person, apparently) and supersonic rounds had a definite crack to them separate from the muzzle blast (but close, given the short distance from the muzzle). Suppressed just made the initial blast a bit quieter for the supersonic rounds – didn’t affect the crack at all. And while you can time between the crack and the bang, it’s not very accurate for more than “close range” vs. “far away”.
  • Speed of sound 343 m/s, so (vbullet – vsound)*t = distance from the muzzle. For the rounds fired:
    • .30 Carbine: (606.5 – 343) → ~260 meters per second difference.
    • 7.62x51mm / .308 Win: (~800 – 343) → ~460 meters per second difference.
    • 5.56x45mm / .223 Rem: (~900 – 343) →~560 meters per second difference.
  • Of course (based on a quick search for ballistics tables) at about five hundred yards both 7.62 and 5.56 will have lost half of their velocity, so you’d need to calculate the distance as a function of time difference using slightly more involved kinematics… while being shot at.
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Published by donnorum

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