Pat Rogers Carbine Operators Course Review

Training.

Training is something that everybody needs to do, but very few actually do it. Honestly, I'm of the mind that buying 1 or 2 less guns a year and using that money for a training class is money well spent. After all, how many guns can you use at once?

With that said, I would like to give my thoughts on the Carbine Operators Course from EAG Tactical. EAG Tactical is Pat Roger's training company and through it, he offers fighting courses. Pat is very adamant about not teaching 'shooting' courses since in his opinion, shooting isn't what we are doing, but FIGHTING. (Actually Pat uses colorful language to state this, but I'm trying to keep this blog rated PG)

Pat is a shooting master, as defined by Jeff Cooper. Any history I could attempt to give of Col Cooper would be woefully inadequate and lack the amount of gravity that this is owed. To make it short and sweet, he is the father of modern pistolcraft and probably has done more for the handgun shooting community than has been done by all others since the dawn of the pistol.

I say this so that you can hopefully understand a little about Pat's background; if you read his official biography anyplace, you can find out he had a life as a Marine, a NYPD officer/detective, and other sundry fun things.

Now, a short description of the class:
The class is drill based; that is that Pat and his adjunct instructor (Mike for the class I attended) will discuss and demonstrate the drill that will then by done by the students. During the introduction period of the class; Pat gives some definitions of components that he uses and then he hits them again as you progress into more complicated pieces.

Day 1 starts with a classroom session; Pat gives his safety briefing and then lectures about his take on how this sort of thing builds together; he discusses mindset, tactics and gear.

We started the drills with a 50 Yard zero; I myself hadn't had a chance to properly sight the AR15 that I used in; so it took me more time than it should have to get dialed in. (Lesson Learned #1, have your stuff together and working)

After that, we started with the basic shooting positions - standing, kneeling (and it's mutations, including position monica) and prone.

Once the positions were done, different strings of fire were tried: controlled pairs, hammer pairs, failure drills, etc. and then combinations were done.

We then were taught how to turn. This was then used to illustrate the NSR; which is a non standard response.

We shot a modified Navy style qualification each day; and I had some drama with my rifle with the fact that my selector wasn't going to fire without a boatload of pressure. Mike was able to provide some gunsmithing type help and got my rifle back to running.

Other drills that we covered were running with the weapon; how to stand safely, multiple targets and transitions from primary to secondary.

The third day featured some stuff that is, I feel, ignored by most - one hand only shooting, optics that go bad or are occluded. Pat did stress that you have to be mentally prepared to not give up.

Most of the attendees were Law Enforcement with some Military sprinkled in and just a few of us lonely civilians. I think this fact shows that Pat is respected and that he provides good training. I'd suggest that any student of gunfighting take Pat's class.

Watch http://www.eagtactical.com for a class near you and don't forget to watch the training forums on all the gun boards as well.

.22lr Project (completed...finally)

Well...finally finished the 1911 grip mod on this project. Just waiting for the epoxy to set on the bushings. Pretty pleased with how it came out. Really flush fit with the panels and lower.

Here's the finished product (Please excuse the poor lighting...and crappy pics):

An Introduction

I'd like to thank our host Shadow6 for the opportunity to help him with the ShooterReady blog. I'm honored to be thought of in this regard.

To start, I'll give the folks out there a thumbnail sketch of my background as it relates to firearms and then I'm also going to give a bit of an outline of upcoming features that I will be posting.

About me:
I've been a shooter all of my life; from air rifles and .22s in school (that'll date me some :) ) to my first pistol to my first NFA item, I have always enjoyed shooting. I was given a BB gun at 10, a shotgun at 17. I've never bought .22 by the box ;). Dropping the hammer on my first .22 rifle is still just as fun as dumping a mag through my Stemple.

At this point in my shooting life, I'm learning what I can of the way of the warrior - which means functional weapons, practical tactics and solid foundation skills. Punching paper is one thing to begin the basics and fundamentals of safe handling (and the 4 rules of Jeff Cooper, may he rest in peace), sight picture, trigger control and functionality of your firearm, but after you learn to walk, you must learn to run.

I've trained at Blackwater and shot IDPA, 3 Gun and other informal matches and training. My goal in the next 12 months is more training with well respected trainers; something that should be a priority for all of us in the shooting community.

I've worked behind the counter at a gun store and have also seen a fair amount of the backroom stuff that the normal shooting public doesn't see. (And no, most dealers aren't making big money on your $500 Glock..)

If you have any questions, please leave a comment and I will answer what I can.

Upcoming Features:

• A discussion of lubrication with respect to the AR15/M16 series rifles
• A photo essay of fairly rare bird 1911
• A small snippet about the CMP and the Garand
• A review of the Adams Arms piston retrofit system for the AR15/M16

If you have any suggestions for topics, I would be pleased to hear them.

TR

The Rock: Welcome To Our Newest Blog Administrator

ALCON,

I just wanted to take this opportunity to welcome on board our newest administrator to the Shooter Ready blog site. The Rock will be taking over some of my administrative duties as I am getting ready to PCS to another duty station and will be departing on yet another military deployment (with several others to follow). Please address any issues, questions, and/or concerns to him in regards to the site.

Again, thanks for taking over some of my responsibilities...greatly appreciated.

Until whenever I have the opportunity to post...

Shadow 6, out.

Ruger 22/45 SD

Just finished threading the barrel on my Ruger 22/45. Pics show my 5.56 can (still waiting for the TAC65 to come in)...but you get the idea. Shot it today with the 5.56 can using Aguila SuperExtra 22LR 40gr. subsonics. Talk about "Hollywood" quiet. All you could hear was the action. Gun is still "dead-balls" accurate. Took the can off --> talk about dirty. Had to put it in my suppressor bath after I was done shooting. Can't wait for the TAC65 to come in.

Pics from 3 Day Tactical Course

Just thought I'd share some pics of a 3 day Tactical Course that me and my son attended. I was one of the instructors. The Primary Instructor is a good friend of mine and a prior SWAT operator. The other AI is a retired COL (SPEC OPS). The students consisted of civilians, military personnel, and LEOs.

Day 1: Tactical Pistol/Carbine
Day 2: Tactical Pistol
Day 3: Hand-to-Hand Combat (Krav Maga system)

Group Photo:



My son preppin his load out for the course. He was using a Glock 19 and an H&K MP5:



Me & Primary Instructor engaging targets at 15 yds:




Me & my son sharing a moment:



Uzi 9mm, 3 rd. controlled burst, low light conditions, forward assault:



Other "action" pics:

The Art of Tactical Camouflage

While thumbing through the February 6, 2007 issue of Guns&Ammo's Combat Tactics magazine, I came across an interesting article titled "Tactical Spray Paint" by Alfred Cripps. From eyeballin' the title of this article, the first obvious thing that came to mind was camouflaging your rig. I was expecting the usual camo patterns found on catalogues that look too perfect that they're no longer camouflaged...those paint jobs that have absolutely no blending of colors done by individuals who are more worried about how thier rigs are going to look on a picture rather than the tactical purpose of camouflaging your rig to begin with...if you know what I mean. Needless to say, my expectations were dead wrong.

Enter the work of Jesse Gorham of Three Wolves Tactical.

Cited from his website: Located in the high desert of the Eastern Sierra, Three Wolves Tactical is owned and operated by Jesse Gorham, a full time police officer in California since 1988. Jesse conducts his Three Wolves business in his off time. In addition to his investigative duties, he is one of three department Rangemasters. Initially Jesse started working his trade on Department owned weapons (sniper rifles and Glocks) and the personal weapons of his colleagues. As word of his work spread, local area shooters sought him out to paint hunting rifles. In October 2004, Jesse published his own web site and is offering his services to anyone in need of his skills. In addition to his skills as a gunsmith/armorer and artist, Jesse is a highly skilled shooter, both handgun and long rifle, and a certified trainer in both disciplines.

Jesse does all of his work by hand resulting in paint jobs that are all individually uniquie. He uses high quality flat enamel paint. 4-5 applications of enamel paint & 2 applications of clear coat go on each rig. One of the reasons I decided to have Jesse paint my rig is because I didn't want to be locked in to one specific camo pattern as you are when using some of the more permanent methods(i.e. - Duracoat, Ceracoat, etc.)...definitely comes into play when you're working in different operational environments. All you have to do is simply strip the paint off and apply a new camo pattern. I've been told that touch ups were extremely easy, but I can bet my work will be nowhere near compared to the talented hand of Jesse's. Turn around time for my rig was only a couple of weeks and you just can't beat his prices! No matter what type of camo pattern you want on your rig, Jesse can probably reproduce it...from tiger stripe to digital patterns...you name it. You'd be amazed at what he can do. Just check out his website for detailed pics (courtesy of Ichiro Nagata) of the camo jobs he's done for customers. You won't be disappointed.

Here are before and after pics of my rig.

Before:



and After:







(Photographs Courtesy of Jesse Gorham)

Thanks Jesse.

From a more than satisfied customer.

-Doc