Tactical Response Inc's Tactical Rifle, Sept 17-18, Colorado
Tactical Response had two days of Tactical Rifle training Sat-Sun in Pueblo CO. This class was designed to be an introduction to fighting with a carbine and pistol as backup.
Much like the Tac Pistol class, we started with close-range drills to get the fundamentals down, including stance, sight picture, close-range trajectory, pistol technique, carbine to pistol transitions, and the different types of reloads for the rifle-- speed, tactical, and emergency. We covered shooting from behind cover in-depth, doing strong and weak-side prone, kneeling, and standing from both sides of the barricades. Movement and cover while reloading or transitioning was emphasized.
For the guys that didn't have a good zero, or had never shot beyond 25 yards, we moved back to the 100 yard line to make sure everyone was squared away.
Next was something new: team drills and movement behind cover. In this section, the goal of a two-man team was to stay behind cover and keep one carbine running - shooting at the target - at all times. This meant the shooter and partner had to communicate when they were ready to shoot again, when they were getting low, when they were out or malfed ("COVER!"), and watching six.
When this was no longer an embarrassment, we moved to a drill where two, two-man teams advanced between cover points with one team providing rounds on target while the other team was advancing. This required the "watch six" guy to communicate with the other team to facilitate safe movement, and with his partner to tell him when to move. And throughout the whole thing, someone had to be delivering rounds on target at all times.
This drill evolved to two 4-man teams where the goal was to keep two carbines shooting at all times. Finally, this evolved to two 8-man teams advancing and retreating under cover, keeping at least two carbines firing at all times. At this point, the situation was made much more challenging by having one or multiple shooters designated as "WOUNDED" halfway through the scenario. The goal of the remaining team was to drag the wounded guys back to safety, while maintaining cover and keeping the guns shooting on target. Dragging guys back to cover is NOT easy, especially while you're carrying a bunch of gear and a hot carbine.
The whole team section was by far the most challenging part of the class.
This class gave the students the basic skills needed to operate a carbine and transition to handgun effectively. It went one step further by demonstrating some team tactics and emphasizing communication.
(Thanks Mike Aos and Dan Durda for the pics.)
Round count in this course was high. The published numbers were 1000 rifle and 250 pistol. When I worked out how many rounds I shot during the class based on how many I came home with, my actual rifle round count was approx 1800 rounds.
Having a rifle that runs reliably is important. Most of the rifles I saw there were of the 16" or M4 pattern. Most of the rifles on my "end" of the line ran well, with only 1 rifle having persistent problems.
I shot a 16" Rock River stainless barrel with 223 Wylde chamber, lightened vs. the stock profile, A2 FH. Larue 9.0, JP SS bolt carrier. Magpul M93B stock. JP 4# trigger, Aimpoint M2. My gun rifle ran well the entire class, with only a couple malfs on the final multiple-mag dump "drill."
[ link to LARGER image ]
I did not clean my rifle the entire weekend. Before the class, I had wiped down the outside of the bolt carrier with a paper towel. The only maintenance I did was to add lube after the first day, and at lunch both days.