APOD Firearms

After action: Report on CORE (ALTUS) Intro to Carbine Course

The #1 community for Gun Owners of the Gulf Coast States

Member Benefits:

  • Fewer Ads!
  • Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership
  • Discuss anti-gun legislation
  • Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section
  • Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses
  • Discover free outdoor shooting areas
  • View up to date on firearm-related events
  • Share photos & video with other members
  • ...and so much more!
  • ccather

    Marksman
    Rating - 100%
    1   0   0
    Joined
    Oct 14, 2012
    Messages
    892
    Points
    63
    Location
    Pensacola
    Completed the Intro to Carbine Course at ALTUS (CORE) yesterday. For me, it was worth every penny. Much more efficient way to learn than thinking I could teach myself using videos and guessing what is the right way.

    Report

    Driving there: Use their directions, which I did, because some GPSs will send you the wrong way. Mine would have. I took my time and it was about an hour and twenty minute drive from the west side of Pensacola.

    Facility: Building that you drive up to is the office, pro shop, classroom and pavilion. The office seems to be in the center of all the bays and ranges. There was a platform where you can stand and see much of the facility. No food that I found. Drink machine. Ice machine. Real bathrooms. Proshop was small and not fully stocked. They just attended SHOT and new inventory would be arriving. The stuff they had there seemed to be higher quality. They had a Dillon 1050 (I believe) on a bench in the shop that looks like it is in regular use.

    People in the class: There were about 9 people ranging in age from teens to sixties (two from Seattle, one from Canada, one from Tampa). All were open and sociable. No one had a bad attitude or was arrogant or a gear know it all.

    Gear people brought: Rifles ranged from bone stock Colt M4 type to nicer customs with some toys hanging from them. All had slings. Most had optics with a mix of red dot and magnified, one iron site (mine). Some had muzzle brakes. I believe only the instructor ran a suppressor. Some had fancy battle belts with places for pistol and ar mags. I ran one taco on a rigger's belt and extra mags carried in pockets, no problems. Really only need one taco for the drills.

    Instructor: Rodney May is a great instructor with high energy. He spent time focusing on each student. I could spend a lot of time describing him as a teacher, which I am not very good at. Suffice it to say he is the biggest reason I am going back and take another course.

    Course: I will give a general overview of what was covered. If I would mention a specific skill learned without the benefit of you being there, it would be of little value. For example, he talked about the ergonomics of how your rifle is set up. Some guys spent money on nice pistol grips that did not fit their hand and inhibited proper finger placement on the trigger and thumb placement on the safety. You have to see what kind of grip he was teaching for this to make sense. The guy said he wished he had attended the class first and then set up his rifle. He would have saved some money.

    Some of what was covered:

    -Safety
    -Sling
    -Magazines and loading them
    -Malfunctions and correcting them
    -Sights/Optics
    -Body mechanics when holding, moving rifle into firing positions and the firing positions
    -Using your non-dominate eye for aiming
    -Reloading
    -Moving while shooting
    -Shooting from the windows of an actual building, first and second stories and from a pitched roof
    -Building positions when using a variety of cover

    Lessons learned
    -If I really want to learn how to run a gun, get training. I am kidding myself if I think I can do it alone, even with YouTube. Suppress that DIY ego!
    -Glad I had been exercising and stretching a little. You will be on your feet most of the day and get into low and awkward positions
    -Good sturdy shoes/ boots a plus
    -Bring mags that feed reliably
    -Bring reliable ammo
    -Preload as many mags a possible and have one empty mag. We always ran full mags (minus 1 or 2 rounds)
    -Follow their driving directions the first time you go
    -Bring food
    -Sling on rifle
    -Rain gear
    -Take notes!! You are paying for the info, capture it on paper!
    -Do not need a bunch of accessories hanging from the rifle for this course

    That's all for now. I need to rub on some icy-hot.
     
    Last edited:

    John B.

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    2   0   0
    Joined
    Sep 27, 2012
    Messages
    3,162
    Points
    97
    Location
    Gulf Breeze
    That's great to hear. I took a pistol course with them years ago and have been kicking around the idea of a carbine course.

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
     
    Top Bottom