LMS Defense Carbine 1
Fayetteville, NC Aug 25-26 2007 Instructors: Troy Price, Tony Siciliano
The class really started friday night when we all met for dinner. In my opinion this is a great way to start any class. It gets all of the first morning meet-n-greet jitters out of the way, letting you dive right in to class the next morning. It also lets you start to get to know your instructors and your classmates. We started out by going to Ryans, to get some dinner and over dinner we discussed the plans for the class, and started to get in the right mindset for the class. We finished dinner, made plans to meet for breakfast, and went out separate ways.
Day 1: We met a the range at approx 8:15 and started setting up and getting out gear ready for the day. With the forecast predicting 100F+ days, we were constantly reminded to hydrate. Troy and Tony (T&T for the rest of the article), started out by explaining what the class was about. We went over the plan if we had anyone seriously injured, and how to handle that situation. We moved on to the rifle. Since everyone in the class was shooting an AR-15 of some type, T&T stuck to that. We discussed how the rifle works, why it works, and how to maintain it. We discussed how to properly lube your rifle, and how to keep it running for many yrs to come. Then T&T gave anyone that needed to a chance to properly lube up their weapon before the start of class.
Then we talked about gear. The importance of configuring your gear wear it is accessible by BOTH hands. What gear you need to complete your task, civilian, LEO, .Mil . We took turns explaining our gear and why we like it. I found out that while my 2pt sling works great for 3gun, it isnt exactly the best thing for a fighting gun. More on this later.
From there we talked about how to, hold on, wait for it................. Kill People! Topics including central nervous, circulatory, and respiratory systems, and how to make them stop. This is a public article so I won't go into great detail on this subject, but suffice to say, you will learn things about how to stop a threat, quickly and efficiently.
From there we proceeded to discuss how to sight in your rifle, using both irons and optics. Again, T&T not only told us how to do it, they showed us how to zero our rifles. What good is a rifle that doesnt shoot where you point it? After we confirmed everyones zero, we went to TOWN!
Let me expand on why I now prefer the 1pt sling to a 2pt or 3pt sling, on a fighting weapon. Slings are there for 1 thing, and thats to catch a falling gun. Single points do a fine job of this, though that is not the main reason for them. Imagine you ( a right handed shooter ) have to shoot around the left side of a barricade, wall, cover etc. You can either shoot off your right shoulder, and expose more of your body to the target, or swap shoulders, and shoot lefthanded. Here is where the 1pt sling shows its advantages. With a 1pt sling, you just move the butt of the weapon to your left shoulder, aim, and fire. The 2pt, if properly adjusted, will probably be too tight to allow the shooter to switch shoulders easily. In a 3gun match those extra seconds might cost you first place. In a shootout, those extra seconds may cost you, or one of your team members lives. I'm not saying that single points are always better than 2pt or 3pt slings. I just feel that a single point sling is a superior choice for a fighting weapon
By most accounts I am a pretty decent shooter. I normally hit what I aim at, and I can normally do it pretty fast. So when T&T told me that there was a better, more efficient way to hold me weapon I was skeptical to say the least. Then they went even further, telling me my stance was flawed. Come on now, I've been shooting since I was 4. I've been to other training classes and they never told me my stance was jacked up. Why am I only hearing this now. Regardless of those questions, the proof was in the pudding, or should I say in the shooting. Once T&T tweaked my stance, the results were immediate. I was much quicker on target, and I remained on target amidst high rates of fire. It's amazing what the proper stance will do for you. If you have the chance to let LMS fine tune your shooting, go for it, you'll be a believer.
If your stance is off, Everything is off. You have to have your stance squared away, or it will always hinder you. Period!
From there we moved on to the transition drills. Meaning, firing shots from your rifle, then pistol, then back to rifle and so on. We did a few mags of this so everyone would learn what to do if a weapon went down in a gunfight.
From there we moved on to malfunction clearing. T&T went over the different malfunctions that are common with AR's, and how to clear each one of them. We practiced clearing them until we got them right. Then once more to be sure.
After lunch we loaded back up and started in on the shooting on the move portion of the class. Once again, your stance comes in to play. If its not solid, your shots are all over the place. We had 3 relatively new shooters in the class, so we did a few dry runs to make sure everyone was on the same page and to go over your safe shooting angles, then proceeded with live fire. Cause thats how we did it in SAS. I know I keep harping on this but, YOUR STANCE MATTERS! T&T taught us how to shoot, then how to move, then we put it all together and it was like potato salad and jelly beans. It just all went together. I even surprised myself on how much more fast, accurate fire I was able to put on target while moving. And so ended day one, We packed up and finished after that.
Day 2 started around 8:30 with a brief review of the prior days topics. We then loaded up and got to shooting.
We started with more shooting on the move, but this time we started from a further distance, and finished closer to the target. Once everyone was squared away with this we had a lecture on shooting around cover, and not crowding it. I found this especially interesting. Partly because I had been in a lecture about not crowding cover before, but I was never told "why" not to do it. T&T, as well as the 2 other Marines in the class, had firsthand knowledge and experience to back up their advice they give to students. THIS is what you pay for. Sure its good to be taught, but its even better to be taught from experience.
The we learned about different shooting positions. Prone, strong shoulder, weak shoulder, fetal, on your bum, kneeling, double kneeling etc. This is where I really saw The Swede and Grey stepped up. Admitting that they had never shot like this before, they both jumped right in and were putting their shots on target from difficult positions in no time. Way to go guys!
From there we moved on to shooting from behind cover, moving to more cover, and re-engaging the target from there. This was a new experience for some, and second nature to others. This is were I saw it all come together for Dan and Grey. They did sooooo good. We touched on some 2 man team tactics, and coving your buddy while he reloads, or transitions to another cover location.
This is not a high round count class, so if you are coming to blow through 2000rds in 2 days, you might be disappointed. You won't be put in front of a IPSC target at 25ft to do meaningless mag dumps, unless you just want to. This class stresses marksmanship above all. It doesn't do any good to throw tons of lead at a target, if you don't hit it. This class teaches you what works, and what works better. Thats the one thing T&T stress over and over. That there is not only 1 way to do things. There are just certain ways that tend to be better than others.
I can't recommend this class enough for ANYONE that owns a rifle. You will learn the basic fundamentals that will lead you down the path to being a true marksman with you rifle.
The one thing that amazed me was how T&T were able to handle the diversity levels of the shooters, and still have everyone walk away having learned something new. Look at who we had in the class. 2 Marine Scout Snipers, an accomplished 3gun shooter, and 3 relatively new carbine shooters. Now keep in mind that each student sat under the exact same instructors and instruction, then ask them what they learned. I'm confident that we all learned something different that will further our proficiency with a rifle.
I can't say enough good things about Troy and Tony. They are both top notch instructors, and LMS is fortunate to have them aboard. They present the material in a simple, easy to understand method that builds confidence in the student. They are quick to recognize a students mistake and give advice or practical instruction on how to fix it. They also do this with good solid positive reinforcement. Its great to have instructors that can both explicate AND demonstrate.
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Tim P.