Tactical AR Course

Graywolf

Graywolf

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Pilot Mountain
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I purchased my AR around the end of January. I have always been a 1911 shooter and wanted to learn a new platform although I have fired a rifle many times. I took a basic class to learn how to run the rifle, clean, and any other tips I could learn. It was three women and five men. After making minor changes to my rifle, (Geissele super charging handle, SpiceTac black nitride BCG, and a MRO 2.0 Trijicon red dot) I thought I was ready for the next course..Tactical AR. The class instructor had bona-fides I could respect, and knew he would not "soften" the course of fire for me. I needed to know my strengths and weaknesses so I knew what to work on. I had never worn, nor loaded from a chest rig. Stagnant firing from a bench in an indoor, I was really in for a lesson. One hour in the class and four hours on the range really transformed my shooting skills to a whole new level. Kneeling and standing, transitioning from the rifle to the handgun (one handed), clearing any malfunctions, all done with increasing speed and safety. The class was three other young men that had very obviously been shooting the AR for many years (I asked!) and I was worried about holding the class up with reloading as I had left my loader at home. I apologized for the error and was relieved when we all shook hands and left with a smile and three new friends. Yes, I was two seconds behind them firing, but I had no misses, all hits, and respect from three guys half my age. I plan on taking the course again to see if I've improved in the near future. I hope everyone has the opportunity to take a course and push themselves a little to find out what happens when shooting under pressure!
 
Graywolf said:
I purchased my AR around the end of January. I have always been a 1911 shooter and wanted to learn a new platform although I have fired a rifle many times. I took a basic class to learn how to run the rifle, clean, and any other tips I could learn. It was three women and five men. After making minor changes to my rifle, (Geissele super charging handle, SpiceTac black nitride BCG, and a MRO 2.0 Trijicon red dot) I thought I was ready for the next course..Tactical AR. The class instructor had bona-fides I could respect, and knew he would not "soften" the course of fire for me. I needed to know my strengths and weaknesses so I knew what to work on. I had never worn, nor loaded from a chest rig. Stagnant firing from a bench in an indoor, I was really in for a lesson. One hour in the class and four hours on the range really transformed my shooting skills to a whole new level. Kneeling and standing, transitioning from the rifle to the handgun (one handed), clearing any malfunctions, all done with increasing speed and safety. The class was three other young men that had very obviously been shooting the AR for many years (I asked!) and I was worried about holding the class up with reloading as I had left my loader at home. I apologized for the error and was relieved when we all shook hands and left with a smile and three new friends. Yes, I was two seconds behind them firing, but I had no misses, all hits, and respect from three guys half my age. I plan on taking the course again to see if I've improved in the near future. I hope everyone has the opportunity to take a course and push themselves a little to find out what happens when shooting under pressure!
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Excellent write-up! It's great that you had such a positive experience. Now the key is to be in a position to practice and build upon your skills.
 
Chuckman said:
Excellent write-up! It's great that you had such a positive experience. Now the key is to be in a position to practice and build upon your skills.
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Thank you for your kind words! That's why I'm practicing tactical mag changes over the bed until the next class. Indoor ranges have their limitations and after seeing some shooters in the Basic class, I'm ok with that...hahaha. I DID get to fire a full auto AR in the Basic class without being pushed back by doing controlled three shot bursts, but some others made me look for a wall to hide behind. I loved that Tactical course!!
 
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Hope more people take an AR class based on your feedback. Save ammo and take a class.
 
Graywolf said:
I purchased my AR around the end of January. I have always been a 1911 shooter and wanted to learn a new platform although I have fired a rifle many times. I took a basic class to learn how to run the rifle, clean, and any other tips I could learn. It was three women and five men. After making minor changes to my rifle, (Geissele super charging handle, SpiceTac black nitride BCG, and a MRO 2.0 Trijicon red dot) I thought I was ready for the next course..Tactical AR. The class instructor had bona-fides I could respect, and knew he would not "soften" the course of fire for me. I needed to know my strengths and weaknesses so I knew what to work on. I had never worn, nor loaded from a chest rig. Stagnant firing from a bench in an indoor, I was really in for a lesson. One hour in the class and four hours on the range really transformed my shooting skills to a whole new level. Kneeling and standing, transitioning from the rifle to the handgun (one handed), clearing any malfunctions, all done with increasing speed and safety. The class was three other young men that had very obviously been shooting the AR for many years (I asked!) and I was worried about holding the class up with reloading as I had left my loader at home. I apologized for the error and was relieved when we all shook hands and left with a smile and three new friends. Yes, I was two seconds behind them firing, but I had no misses, all hits, and respect from three guys half my age. I plan on taking the course again to see if I've improved in the near future. I hope everyone has the opportunity to take a course and push themselves a little to find out what happens when shooting under pressure!
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You're inspiring me to try a class once the weather get cooler! But I've only shot a rifle twice in my life. I do like a challenge, though.....
 
Coho857 said:
Don't know were op took his class, but i have taken 2 classes at Apex defense and those guys are top notch.
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I took a defensive pistol class there, and it was a great experience, and I hope to do that class at least once more! It was a pretty awesome day.
 
Paradigm .45 said:
Where did you take the course? I'm looking for something just like this and reviews seem hard to find!
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I took the course at Pro Shots in Rural Hall, NC. According to one of the young men in class, he also had a hard time finding anything like this class. He was from Charlotte and stayed overnight at a hotel. You have to take these courses in ascending order from Basic, Tactical then Advanced. Sonny, the instructor, is excellent. No gaming stuff here, it's ON. You will be tired and you will, as I said before know your limitations that you can work to improve.
 
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Graywolf said:
. No gaming stuff here,
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Graywolf said:
I am not a gamer.
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Curious. For clarification, what is your definition of gaming?

Running a timed pure assault course with targets at multiple angles, and a mixture of IPSC targets and plates/poppers will definitely showcase one's shooting skill set.

Tactics and shooting skills are two separate things.
 
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Hashknife said:
Curious. For clarification, what is your definition of gaming?

Running a timed pure assault course with targets at multiple angles, and a mixture of IPSC targets and plates/poppers will definitely showcase one's shooting skill set.

Tactics and shooting skills are two separate things.
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Gaming would be seeing the course of fire, figuring out best way to engage, no concern for cover, round count, where to do mag changes before running the course cold. Tactics go out the window when you add a timer. Tactically you'll be pie'ing the corners and going slow and never stand in a door way .
 
We are located about 20 minutes from Rural Hall and 40 from Pilot Mountain. We have Tactical Rifle, and Defensive Rifle classes levels 1, 2, and 3. Check out some reviews of ours in the AAR thread. Our classes and course schedule are on our website- www.apexdefensegroup.com and our June-September classes are on here under the training classes tab. We have a TON of alumni on here who will be glad to help point you in the right direction as to what class to take! This site is ALWAYS full of helpful caring kind people.
 
Combat Diver said:
Gaming would be seeing the course of fire, figuring out best way to engage, no concern for cover, round count, where to do mag changes before running the course cold. Tactics go out the window when you add a timer. Tactically you'll be pie'ing the corners and going slow and never stand in a door way .
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Just like to point out that many competitions do indeed require understanding and use of cover. Even USPSA, forces you to shoot from cover, by way of walls and boundaries.
While it’s not going to be real hard cover, it’s going to be the same kind of barriers used at most tactical carbine classes, and takes place on a similar range.

I think Hashknifes point is that shooting faster and more accurately is a goal almost everybody shares. Teaching someone not to stand in a doorway (or to kick it down) is a tactic, not a shooting skill. In no way would competition hurt your ability to learn these tactics as well.
 
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NKD said:
Just like to point out that many competitions do indeed require understanding and use of cover. Even USPSA, forces you to shoot from cover, by way of walls and boundaries.
While it’s not going to be real hard cover, it’s going to be the same kind of barriers used at most tactics carbine classes, and takes place on a similar range.

I think Hashknokes point is that shooting faster and more accurately is a goal almost everybody shares. Teaching someone not to stand in a doorway (or to kick it down) is a tactic, not a shooting skill. In no way would competition hurt your ability to learn these tactics as well.
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I think both are awesome. Students ask all the time about "will shooting competition hurt their defensive skills" and my answer is no, if you keep in mind your goals for each. Yes you will use barriers in competition, however if in a competition, I'd want to shave seconds. In reality, I would want to limit over exposure, approach differently, set distances, etc. So I would handle those differently. But just practicing getting difficult shots around objects is a skill itself that would work into the reality once you learned to use cover or concealment properly. I've learned some valuable defensive skills in competition as well. I was cleaning a stage and my rifle malfunctioned, why? Because I stuck it right beside the frame of the car shaving off seconds. Round ejected, smacked the frame, and boom rifle back into my chamber. I spent 12 seconds clearing that horrendous malfunction moving through the stage. Finished FINALLY, and one of my guys goes, hmm... Why didn't you switch to your pistol. Ouch. Guess what I didn't practice enough but is second nature now and gets talked about in every class. You guessed it.
 
Apex Defense Group said:
I think both are awesome. Students ask all the time about "will shooting competition hurt their defensive skills" and my answer is no, if you keep in mind your goals for each. Yes you will use barriers in competition, however if in a competition, I'd want to shave seconds. In reality, I would want to limit over exposure, approach differently, set distances, etc. So I would handle those differently. But just practicing getting difficult shots around objects is a skill itself that would work into the reality once you learned to use cover or concealment properly. I've learned some valuable defensive skills in competition as well. I was cleaning a stage and my rifle malfunctioned, why? Because I stuck it right beside the frame of the car shaving off seconds. Round ejected, smacked the frame, and boom rifle back into my chamber. I spent 12 seconds clearing that horrendous malfunction moving through the stage. Finished FINALLY, and one of my guys goes, hmm... Why didn't you switch to your pistol. Ouch. Guess what I didn't practice enough but is second nature now and gets talked about in every class. You guessed it.
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Indeed. I hear a lot the ole "competition gets you keeeld in the "real world".

Then I go to a 3gun match and its packed with operators from Bragg, contactors, swat guys, etc. Practically every body there carries a gun for a living one way or another.
 
NKD said:
Indeed. I hear a lot the ole "competition gets you keeeld in the "real world".

Then I go to a 3gun match and its packed with operators from Bragg, contactors, swat guys, etc. Practically every body there carries a gun for a living one way or another.
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Exactly. I always went with my old co-workers and contractor buddies. It's just a change in mentality. The competition gives you lots of reps in a fun environment and helps with practice and weapon manipulation. The training should be real world and prioritized in a different mental state. A lot of instructors are in this field that say things like that... Same ones teaching things that will get you killed for the sake of a cool Instagram photo lol
 
Sorry I didn't get back to this thread sooner, and after reading all the following I may have sounded a bit harsh about what I call gamers. To those that choose to compete that's fine. I know many people who enjoy an afternoon shooting and socializing. Apex Defense Group just hit the nail on the head in describing my training, I have always stuck to a real world mental state. I don't want to know the course of fire. My changes from the rifle to handgun will become automatic with repetition (muscle memory). I like knowing that when my hand is shaking with adrenaline dump I can still make my hits because my basic skills are rock solid.
 
Graywolf said:
Sorry I didn't get back to this thread sooner, and after reading all the following I may have sounded a bit harsh about what I call gamers. To those that choose to compete that's fine. I know many people who enjoy an afternoon shooting and socializing. Apex Defense Group just hit the nail on the head in describing my training, I have always stuck to a real world mental state. I don't want to know the course of fire. My changes from the rifle to handgun will become automatic with repetition (muscle memory). I like knowing that when my hand is shaking with adrenaline dump I can still make my hits because my basic skills are rock solid.
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Too cool. I am just happy to see you out training and striving to reach goals. More than I can say for most shooters. Come train with us sometime! We are local and would love to have you!
 
Apex Defense Group said:
We are located about 20 minutes from Rural Hall and 40 from Pilot Mountain. We have Tactical Rifle, and Defensive Rifle classes levels 1, 2, and 3. Check out some reviews of ours in the AAR thread. Our classes and course schedule are on our website- www.apexdefensegroup.com and our June-September classes are on here under the training classes tab. We have a TON of alumni on here who will be glad to help point you in the right direction as to what class to take! This site is ALWAYS full of helpful caring kind people.
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I personally recommenced the Pro Shots Tactical AR course to Graywolf for one reason. The instructor holds a certification from NCDOJ as a Specialized Firearms Instructor. While I am retired, I still have the T-Shirt.
 
Great write up. This might be a dumb question but why were you concerned about leaving your reloading equipment at home? Was it a combo course or something?
 
nchunt101 said:
Great write up. This might be a dumb question but why were you concerned about leaving your reloading equipment at home? Was it a combo course or something?
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Yes. AR pattern rifles and handgun of your choice. My sweet husband loaded ALL my rounds before class not knowing we were doing drills with 5 to 10 rounds, running out and switching to 1 hand shots. I spent a lot of time loading and unloading that my lula loader would have helped.
 

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