billprudden
February 5th, 2010, 11:45 AM
Friends –
We are in a position to announce specifics and invite sign-ups for the three courses which will be held at Mayberry this year.
All of these classes will be for a maximum of 16 shooters, and will only run if a minimum of 12 are signed up and paid 30 days in advance. If you want to enroll in one, or more than one, email me at billprudden@hotmail.com and I'll slot you, then email you back confirming your slot. Then, 60 days out, I'll email you again asking you to mail me a check. If I have at least 12 checks 30 days out the class will run, if I don't I'll cancel it and mail everyone their checks back. Because of this payment / cancellation structure, even if you know you want to attend more than one I'll be requesting separate checks from you – I know it seems like a bit more work but it will help me keep things relatively straight-forward on my end.
If you have any questions please post them here or email me.
Bill Prudden
____________________
Sunday, June 27th, Carbine 101 (again). Same format as last year, two squads of eight each shooting a half day. Please see http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=25510 for both a course description and AARs. Further, if you email me at the address below I'll send you the lesson plan if you are interested. Costs for this four-hour class will be $75. If you want to sign up for this class please indicate to me if you would prefer the morning (9am) or afternoon (1pm) squad.
____________________
Sunday, August 29th, Field Expedient Shooting. This will be a six-hour course for $75. I figure we can start at noon and go to 6pm.
From Ian's draft curriculum:
Overview:
This course is designed to teach the student how to obtain a stable shooting position after their bipod has been rendered useless (or grass or other obstacles confound its use) and they have to use what is around them to get an accurate hit on target. This course will cover using a shooting sling, using shooting sticks and tripods, and finally, how to create some improvised, field expedient rests. The goal of this course is to not only break the dependence on prone shooting with bipods but also to give the students the ability to learn their own limitations when using these methods and what works best and what doesn’t.
Equipment Recommendations:
Rifles – This course is open to tactical-style bolt action and semi-auto rifles.
Optics – Optics with at least a 10X magnification level are recommended, in addition to having externally adjustable knobs and a graduated reticle (mildot or MOA)
Ammunition – Match grade ammunition is recommended for this course. Round count TBD.
Other – A rear bag and shooting sling are recommended for this course. Loaners are available for the duration of the course. NO bipods allowed…bipods will be removed from rifles prior to the start of the course.
Topics that will be discussed
1. Setting up the rifle sling
2. Using the rifle sling for the prone position
3. Using the rifle sling in the sitting position
4. Using the rifle sling in the kneeling position
5. Making a set of shooting sticks
6. Making a tripod
7. Using 550 cord for an improvised rest
8. Shooting from a barricade / tree / wall.
9. (Bill will be nagging Ian to also include use of a dedicated "shooting pack" with built-in rest and partner-supported positions such as two men standing or two men kneeling, but Ian, like many of Bill's friends, often just blows Bill off, so no promises here)
After the initial instruction the students will then go through some scenarios that will force them to choose the best field expedient position in order to achieve a successful hit on target. The plan is for them to be able to balance accuracy with cover and concealment to better learn what works and what doesn’t. All in all I think it will be a good learning experience that will be useful in many different aspects of shooting.
____________________
Sunday, September 12th, a Scenario Exercise. This class is intended to allow you to "test" the skills you have learned in Carbine 101, FES, the Close Combat course that is not yet scheduled but intended for July, and other training.
Students will arrive in pairs at staggered times throughout the day and spend approximately 75 minutes moving through seven different scenarios simulating close combat indoors and around vehicles, movement across open ground, and, most importantly, decision-making and field-expedient shooting. There will be a combination of Airsoft force-on-force and live fire, with probably two Airsoft and five live fire scenarios. Weapons will be handguns and carbines. Ranges will be from contact-distance to 600 yards, if you can engage that far.
The scenarios will be based on a simple premise: You are away from home and some sort of civil disruption occurs. Your goal will be to successfully get home. In the first scenario you will be inside a building and experience a violent assault which you will defend yourself against. You will then move to your vehicle where your live weapons are, perhaps because you foresaw this event occurring. With your live weapons you will move through additional scenarios, engaging threats, or electing not to, as you see fit. You will be faced with decision-making regarding non-combatants, use of fire as "cover", when and how to transition between weapons during movement, etc.
I decided to make this a two-man team exercise, and would like you to bring along somebody you have trained with before and could, possibly, team with under just such worse-case circumstances. As each of you sign up for this class we'll email privately about who is working together.
The scenarios will be short and simple. Your RO will define the situation and issue you a goal, such as "move through those people and come out at that doorway". You and your partner will then have a moment to discuss how you are going to approach what you see and you can also discuss it with your RO. You will then execute it, taking perhaps two or three minutes. When done you and your partner will have a couple of minutes to catch your breath, discuss what just happened with your RO, and walk to the start of the next scenario. Not unlike, I hope, a condensed version of what it might be like to commute by foot from work to home, or from your house to your brother's house, in times of trouble...
A note about safety: Despite how dynamic the class will be, it will still operate within classic "square range" safety protocols, including the "180-degree" rule with live weapons. You and your partner will have clear operating guidelines, and will be, in accord with your ROs, setting the pace so that safety is never compromised.
This class will cost $60 a man, and each team should plan to be at the range 90 minutes. If you want to sign up please indicate in your email your preference for morning or afternoon.
We are in a position to announce specifics and invite sign-ups for the three courses which will be held at Mayberry this year.
All of these classes will be for a maximum of 16 shooters, and will only run if a minimum of 12 are signed up and paid 30 days in advance. If you want to enroll in one, or more than one, email me at billprudden@hotmail.com and I'll slot you, then email you back confirming your slot. Then, 60 days out, I'll email you again asking you to mail me a check. If I have at least 12 checks 30 days out the class will run, if I don't I'll cancel it and mail everyone their checks back. Because of this payment / cancellation structure, even if you know you want to attend more than one I'll be requesting separate checks from you – I know it seems like a bit more work but it will help me keep things relatively straight-forward on my end.
If you have any questions please post them here or email me.
Bill Prudden
____________________
Sunday, June 27th, Carbine 101 (again). Same format as last year, two squads of eight each shooting a half day. Please see http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=25510 for both a course description and AARs. Further, if you email me at the address below I'll send you the lesson plan if you are interested. Costs for this four-hour class will be $75. If you want to sign up for this class please indicate to me if you would prefer the morning (9am) or afternoon (1pm) squad.
____________________
Sunday, August 29th, Field Expedient Shooting. This will be a six-hour course for $75. I figure we can start at noon and go to 6pm.
From Ian's draft curriculum:
Overview:
This course is designed to teach the student how to obtain a stable shooting position after their bipod has been rendered useless (or grass or other obstacles confound its use) and they have to use what is around them to get an accurate hit on target. This course will cover using a shooting sling, using shooting sticks and tripods, and finally, how to create some improvised, field expedient rests. The goal of this course is to not only break the dependence on prone shooting with bipods but also to give the students the ability to learn their own limitations when using these methods and what works best and what doesn’t.
Equipment Recommendations:
Rifles – This course is open to tactical-style bolt action and semi-auto rifles.
Optics – Optics with at least a 10X magnification level are recommended, in addition to having externally adjustable knobs and a graduated reticle (mildot or MOA)
Ammunition – Match grade ammunition is recommended for this course. Round count TBD.
Other – A rear bag and shooting sling are recommended for this course. Loaners are available for the duration of the course. NO bipods allowed…bipods will be removed from rifles prior to the start of the course.
Topics that will be discussed
1. Setting up the rifle sling
2. Using the rifle sling for the prone position
3. Using the rifle sling in the sitting position
4. Using the rifle sling in the kneeling position
5. Making a set of shooting sticks
6. Making a tripod
7. Using 550 cord for an improvised rest
8. Shooting from a barricade / tree / wall.
9. (Bill will be nagging Ian to also include use of a dedicated "shooting pack" with built-in rest and partner-supported positions such as two men standing or two men kneeling, but Ian, like many of Bill's friends, often just blows Bill off, so no promises here)
After the initial instruction the students will then go through some scenarios that will force them to choose the best field expedient position in order to achieve a successful hit on target. The plan is for them to be able to balance accuracy with cover and concealment to better learn what works and what doesn’t. All in all I think it will be a good learning experience that will be useful in many different aspects of shooting.
____________________
Sunday, September 12th, a Scenario Exercise. This class is intended to allow you to "test" the skills you have learned in Carbine 101, FES, the Close Combat course that is not yet scheduled but intended for July, and other training.
Students will arrive in pairs at staggered times throughout the day and spend approximately 75 minutes moving through seven different scenarios simulating close combat indoors and around vehicles, movement across open ground, and, most importantly, decision-making and field-expedient shooting. There will be a combination of Airsoft force-on-force and live fire, with probably two Airsoft and five live fire scenarios. Weapons will be handguns and carbines. Ranges will be from contact-distance to 600 yards, if you can engage that far.
The scenarios will be based on a simple premise: You are away from home and some sort of civil disruption occurs. Your goal will be to successfully get home. In the first scenario you will be inside a building and experience a violent assault which you will defend yourself against. You will then move to your vehicle where your live weapons are, perhaps because you foresaw this event occurring. With your live weapons you will move through additional scenarios, engaging threats, or electing not to, as you see fit. You will be faced with decision-making regarding non-combatants, use of fire as "cover", when and how to transition between weapons during movement, etc.
I decided to make this a two-man team exercise, and would like you to bring along somebody you have trained with before and could, possibly, team with under just such worse-case circumstances. As each of you sign up for this class we'll email privately about who is working together.
The scenarios will be short and simple. Your RO will define the situation and issue you a goal, such as "move through those people and come out at that doorway". You and your partner will then have a moment to discuss how you are going to approach what you see and you can also discuss it with your RO. You will then execute it, taking perhaps two or three minutes. When done you and your partner will have a couple of minutes to catch your breath, discuss what just happened with your RO, and walk to the start of the next scenario. Not unlike, I hope, a condensed version of what it might be like to commute by foot from work to home, or from your house to your brother's house, in times of trouble...
A note about safety: Despite how dynamic the class will be, it will still operate within classic "square range" safety protocols, including the "180-degree" rule with live weapons. You and your partner will have clear operating guidelines, and will be, in accord with your ROs, setting the pace so that safety is never compromised.
This class will cost $60 a man, and each team should plan to be at the range 90 minutes. If you want to sign up please indicate in your email your preference for morning or afternoon.