First training course

[Jonprice556]

I am taking my first 2 day rifleman course at Valor Ridge, and was hoping to get some advice on what gear/supplies to bring. I am bringing the following:

- Condor Plate Carrier (will not be putting plates in for class)
- 3 slot AR mag pouch molle
- 3 slot pistol mag pouch
- 3L hydro bladder
- 8 AR mags
- 6 pistol mags
- dump pouch

Supplies:
- electrolyte additive for hydro pack
- bug spray
- sun screen
- high carb/protein bars
- hat/sunglasses

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Clothes, of course but:

Back up belt
Back up boots

You will be surprised how those fail.

Cleaning kit for guns, lube
Appropriate multitool or the like
Some kind of knife - doesn't have to be commando carver.

[T. O'Heir]

"...Back up boots..." And at least one pair of extra socks. Second pair of boots you can live without, but nothing fixes sore feet like clean, dry, socks.
Your 3 litre water bladder will be decidedly heavy. A litre weighs 2.2 pounds. Doesn't sound like much(wouldn't want to play without it either), but 6 pounds gets heavy if the course involves a lot of running around. Lot depends on how you plan on carrying all that stuff.
Best you look at the course outline too. The pistol mags may not be required.

[raimius]

If you are just going for skills training, I'd skip the plate carrier. For most people, running holsters and mags on their belt is more comfortable (comfort is an aid to learning, generally).

Now, if you are wearing it to train in your duty/deployment gear, go for it.

--Lunch? A nice lunch is always good.

[2damnold4this]

A good sling.

[sakata8242]

If you're going to be mostly shooting from the line working on technical skills, with limited movement, ditch the plate carrier and MOLLE webbing, unless it is duty gear and you plan to train with the gear you'd carry on the job.

From the description on the website it sounds like students will be doing some shooting on the move and from unconventional positions (i.e. rolling around in the dirt). Rolling around wearing a MOLLE vest and hydration pack doesn't sound like a fun way to spend the afternoon, unless again -- it's part of your job description.

If you're a civilian shooter like most people who show up at these classes, the likelihood you'll ever need to wear plates (or even a carrier) and battle rattle is next to zero. If I wake up at 0300 in the morning and grab my AR it's going to be in a t-shirt and boxer shorts.

Here would be my recommendations, in addition to of course anything else the course requires --

- Reliable rifle
- Backup rifle, if possible, otherwise backups for critical rifle components (BCG, FP, etc)
- 6-8 rifle magazines
- Mag loader
- Two-point sling
- Lube and cleaning supplies/tools
- 20-30% more ammunition than they recommend bringing
- Reliable handgun, with backup if possible
- 2-4 handgun magazines
- Quality handgun holster
- Single or double magazine carriers for both rifle and handgun, although pockets and a dump pouch will often suffice.
- Dump pouch is optional

- INDIVIDUAL FIRST AID KIT that you hopefully know how to use.

I was not able to find any mention of a pre-class medical brief or plan from perusing the website. Hopefully for your sake they address this the day of, and have an actual medical plan in place.

[kraigwy]

I'd call the people conducting the class and ask them what you should bring.

[ShootistPRS]

A hat, shooting glasses and hearing protection.
Knee pads and elbow pads.
Sunglasses and a lot of ammo.
Cleaning and lube supplies.
Spare guns or spare parts.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Batteries for sights, if you using them.
Charger for your electronics.
Extra tactical pants if something bad happens to yours.

Extra hat. Non electronic backup muffs if yours go belly up. They are cheap.
Extra ear plugs as you will drop one in the crud.

Antihistamine for all kinds of things, allergies, bug bites, etc.

Pepto-Bismo!!

[Jonprice556]

Should I purchase electronic headphones?

[Eazyeach]

I would purchase electronic hearing protection before taking a class. So you can hear everything the instructors are saying.

[Jonprice556]

As far as belts are concerned - I was planning on wearing my everyday leather belt with my Blackhawk duty belt obviously with the keepers. Is that going to be a pain for 2 days straight?

[Glenn E. Meyer]

In a carbine class, I would wear electronic muffs and ear plugs. Those guns are loud. The muffs turned up will let you hear range commands even with the plugs.

I also like a hat that covers the back of my neck. Now you can't turn it around for a fashion statement or if it bothers your sighting. However, it keeps you from getting lobster neck (a TX effect) and an empty bouncing down the back of your shirt.

In fact, a shirt that fits snuggly around your neck to keep out empties. No need to do that dance. At the last match, my 1911 vigorously ejected casings that bounced off a barricade and bombarded the SO in the back of the head.

[Bartholomew Roberts]

And in training courses, cases can get hot enough that instead of bouncing, they stick to bare skin. Not that I've ever seen anyone seriously injured by brassburn; but most people just don't care for the aesthetic.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

A cap is useful. I was at an indoor range and the guy in the lane was shooting a 50 AE. The ejected casing bounced off the partition and hit me in the forehead for quite an ouchy and goose egg.