I just got back from the class, and wanted to post some feedback. The instructor suggested that I become active on Sniper's Hide, so here's my first post. I hope to learn a lot from the folks here.
Positives:
Caylen Wojcik (Director of Training, Precision Shooting - Magpul Dynamics)
He conducted the class, and I can't say enough good things about him as a person, or as an instructor. He brought the perfect mix of experience (10 years active Marine, tours in Iraq, and years of teaching experience) and enthusiasm to the course. I felt that he was entirely focused on helping us become better shooters. Very down to earth and professional. My profession is technical training, and I can say without reservation that Caylen is an outstanding instructor, and a real asset to his company. He expected that we stayed on point throughout, but never made anyone feel like they weren't appreciated. I came away from the class wanting to attend more of his classes.
The Group.
There were seven shooters, and everyone was focused on the task at hand. I was the least capable of the group at the SPR portion (I was happy with my performance in the DMR portion) and I committed a couple of safety violations under the stress of the SPR drills. No one ripped on me for it, and efforts were made to instruct me on the mistakes I made, and how to prevent it in the future. None of the mistakes were particularly egregious (i.e I never covered anyone with a muzzle, or had my finger on a trigger when I shouldn't have) but any safety error is unacceptable. The rest of the group did a great job with their safety awareness, and that was much appreciated by all.
Kudos in particular to ARFCOM member 'EAB', who is an active member of the Volusia Gun Range we were at. Along with taking the class, you went above and beyond to help everyone. Your knowledge and assistance were (once again) GREATLY appreciated.
Course Content.
The first day we made sure our rifles were set up properly and did a zero test. We also did some whiteboard work discussing the theory of long-range shooting techniques. We practiced some POA drills, learned how to properly utilize a bipod and a rear bag (I had no idea!) and shot some BSA drills (Balance of Speed and Accuracy,) along with some shooting from different positions out to 200 meters. The rear bag I brought was unusable, so a quick trip the first night to Wal-Mart for some Airsoft pellets and pantyhose and I had a very usable bag. Improvise, adapt, overcome...right?
The second day was the DMR portion of the class and we learned about range estimation using mil-dot or TMR reticles, entering data into our ballistics program (most used 'Shooter,' which is available for both iPhone and Android.) We learned a bit about wind estimation, and spent the day ringing steel out to 600 meters. I really enjoyed that.
The third day started with some barrier work out to 450 meters, then we moved to a combination of BSA drills and 12345 drills out to 300 meters. I got a bit frustrated the latter drills because I had a difficult time with some of the mechanics of weapon manipulation. More on that later.
My Weapon.
I used a 20" Sabre Defense 6.5G upper with a Spikes lower and a Geissele SSA trigger, topped with a Leupold Mark 4 MR/T M2 (2.5-8X w/TMR reticle) on a LaRue LT-158. The LT-158 has 10 MOA built in, which was plenty for my weapon at these ranges. It's also a bit lower than the LT-104 (1.44" vs. 1.5") and I was able to get a sight picture with less 'float.' This combo works very well on steel out to 600 meters, and I think I could go to 1000 meters. I never really wished for more magnification out to 600 meters, although a higher-power scope would be much better out past 600 meters. I liked the fact that the Leupold scope is parallax-free at all magnifications, which meant that I never had to adjust parallax, like some of the other guys did. (Disclaimer - I know that no optic is truly 'parallax-free', but I never had a problem with parallax.)
A minor issue was with the Troy TRX Extreme handguard. I couldn't mount the 4" rail all the way forward because the groove inside the handguard that the rail indexes to starts about 4 inches back. This put my bipod back to where it interfered with my weak hand grip in the standing position. Just some stuff to work on. This class did well to expose flaws in the weapon platform (including the shooter.)
The other rifles were an AR-10 (.308) a SCAR-17 (.308) three AR-15's in 5.56, and a 6.8 SPC II. The guy with the 6.8 and I were digging on each other about our choice in rifles (always in a good-natured way, since we both understand that the argument is...well...stupid.) Both cartridges were perfectly capable at 600 meters, and I wouldn't hesitate to take a 6.8 into a defensive position at those ranges (I think my Grendel is better in that role, and in fact I think it might be better than a .308 at those ranges because of its lower recoil, but...there is the question of ammo availablility.) Flame suit ON!
Other positives include the range. A whole lotta wide-open land with benches at the 300 meter lanes and a tower that goes to 1000 meters. It's not a fully developed range like the Manatee range, but I would definitely go to the Volusia range if I was in the area and wanted to do some medium range shooting and action drills. They also have a pistol range, and probably some stuff I didn't see. The RSO's seemed solid, and were not intrusive. You can hunt hogs on the land, and I definitely plan to do that one of these days.
Suggestions for improvement.
The equipment list on the Magpul page needs some tweaking. My notes are in blue:
* Front and Rear Rifle supports. (Bipods and a bean-bag) <span style="color: #3333FF">(Specifically, a rear bag that can be used to dynamically adjust stock height while prone. A 'squishy' bag, if you will.)</span>
* Rifle Cheek Piece (If the weapon's stock is not adjustable) <span style="color: #3333FF">(Nice to have, but if your stock works it's not necessary. Most of the stocks were UBR's, and they worked fine.)</span>
* Rifle Cleaning Equipment <span style="color: #3333FF">(We did not clean our rifles during the class, as it wasn't necessary.)</span>
* Rifle Sling
* Minimum of 6x Magazines <span style="color: #3333FF">(4x magazines was lenty.)</span>
* Load carrying equipment to carry magazines and other kit on your body.
* Weapon Data Book (Provided)
* Pen/Pencil and a Notebook
* Eye and Ear Protection <span style="color: #3333FF">(Active Noise Reduction is of GREAT benefit. There is a lot of instruction going on during live fire, and I had to reduce my level of protection in order to hear the instructor. There were times when I was on the line right next to a .308 with a muzzle brake, and I could feel my ears getting pounded. I normally wear plugs, along with muffs, and I had to take the plugs out. I did not like this. I noticed that several folks had molded in-ear plugs with Active Noise Reduction, and I WILL be getting a set of those. I know they work well even with muffs.)
</span>
* Sturdy footwear
* Clothing appropriate for the weather conditions. (We will shoot rain, shine, sleet or snow. Please be prepared and check the weather.)
* Baseball or Boonie Style Hat
* Water Hydrating Device <span style="color: #3333FF">(A cooler worked fine. We did nothing that required a Camelback-type device.)</span>
* A pack that is suitable for carrying all of your range gear. <span style="color: #3333FF">(Not needed - at least at this range, since we parked close and left most kit in our vehicles.)</span>
* Range Chair (All classroom instruction will be under field conditions.)
* Spotting Scope and Tripod (Recommended but not required for attendance) <span style="color: #3333FF">(I had one, but it wasn't necessary to the class. If you have one on a good tripod, bring it.)</span>
* Binoculars (Recommended but not required for attendance) <span style="color: #3333FF">(Never used mine.)</span>
* Shooting Mat (Recommended but not required for attendance) <span style="color: #3333FF">(I would say this was a must-have. Especially nice if the mat has a bipod stop.)</span>
* Laser Rangefinder (Recommended but not required for attendance) <span style="color: #3333FF">(I never used mine. The instructor ranged all targets.)</span>
* Personal Ballistic Computer/PDA (Recommended but not required for attendance) <span style="color: #3333FF">(I would say this is REQUIRED. Again, 'Shooter' on a smartphone works great.)</span>
* Or your weapon/ammo ballistic data <span style="color: #3333FF">(This is an Intro course, and most people won't have that data. But if you do, then more power to you.)</span>
* Personal Weather Station (Kestrel) (Recommended but not required for attendance) <span style="color: #3333FF">(I never used mine.)</span>
* A Positive Mental Attitude and an Open Mind
I would add a couple of things to the list:
1. Some level of Tactical Carbine training, or at least familiarity with standard weapon system manipulation.
2. An optic with a TMR or a Horus reticle (or some kind of reticle that allows for fine estimation of the size of a target in mils.) At 600 yards, .1 mil results in a pretty large ranging error, and trying to range with a Gen1 Mil-Dot reticle is difficult at best. And ACOGs, as nice as they are, are not even close to being optimal for DMR work. I would recommend an optic with a fine mil reticle and at least 8X magnification. A First Focal Plane optic is also very nice to have for ranging at longer distances. My Leupold is a SFP optic, and it worked fine, but I can see where having a FFP optic is desirable, for sure. I suggest researching FFP and SFP optics if you don't know the differences.)
3. I believe it's incumbent on the student to complete prerequisites prior to any training class. I did not have any dynamic carbine training prior to taking this class. I could have (and should have) guessed that some core tactical skills would be required, but it's not the student's job to guess what the prerequisites are - he/she should be told.
Corollary to that, the first day of the course needs to have a review of basic skills, so that the instructor can determine the competency of each student BEFORE conducting drills in which that competency will be tested in a live fire situation.
The only other criticism I have is that certain things were expected of the students, and I either missed the instruction, or the instructor assumed that we understood those things implicitly.
Example:
In the beginning, only one or two of the students were repeating range commands. I did not know I was supposed to do that until the instructor forcefully stated that we were to do so. When he said "Range Hot!" we were ALL supposed to repeat "Range Hot!" Maybe I missed him telling that to the class. Maybe he assumed we knew to do so. Either way, that needs to be clear in everyone's mind. By the end of the class it was clear.
I think that this class could easily be four days instead of three. We all had our rifles set up pretty well, and got into the drills pretty quickly. Even then I wished we'd had a another day for more 600 meter work, along with some more practice as an observer.
All in all I have nothing but praise for this class, and I encourage anyone who wants to learn the basics of the SPR and DMR role to take the class. I came away with a sense of accomplishment, and also a list of deficiencies in my personal training that I will address. The class was worth every penny, and I will probably take it again if it comes to Florida next year.
Positives:
Caylen Wojcik (Director of Training, Precision Shooting - Magpul Dynamics)
He conducted the class, and I can't say enough good things about him as a person, or as an instructor. He brought the perfect mix of experience (10 years active Marine, tours in Iraq, and years of teaching experience) and enthusiasm to the course. I felt that he was entirely focused on helping us become better shooters. Very down to earth and professional. My profession is technical training, and I can say without reservation that Caylen is an outstanding instructor, and a real asset to his company. He expected that we stayed on point throughout, but never made anyone feel like they weren't appreciated. I came away from the class wanting to attend more of his classes.
The Group.
There were seven shooters, and everyone was focused on the task at hand. I was the least capable of the group at the SPR portion (I was happy with my performance in the DMR portion) and I committed a couple of safety violations under the stress of the SPR drills. No one ripped on me for it, and efforts were made to instruct me on the mistakes I made, and how to prevent it in the future. None of the mistakes were particularly egregious (i.e I never covered anyone with a muzzle, or had my finger on a trigger when I shouldn't have) but any safety error is unacceptable. The rest of the group did a great job with their safety awareness, and that was much appreciated by all.
Kudos in particular to ARFCOM member 'EAB', who is an active member of the Volusia Gun Range we were at. Along with taking the class, you went above and beyond to help everyone. Your knowledge and assistance were (once again) GREATLY appreciated.
Course Content.
The first day we made sure our rifles were set up properly and did a zero test. We also did some whiteboard work discussing the theory of long-range shooting techniques. We practiced some POA drills, learned how to properly utilize a bipod and a rear bag (I had no idea!) and shot some BSA drills (Balance of Speed and Accuracy,) along with some shooting from different positions out to 200 meters. The rear bag I brought was unusable, so a quick trip the first night to Wal-Mart for some Airsoft pellets and pantyhose and I had a very usable bag. Improvise, adapt, overcome...right?
The second day was the DMR portion of the class and we learned about range estimation using mil-dot or TMR reticles, entering data into our ballistics program (most used 'Shooter,' which is available for both iPhone and Android.) We learned a bit about wind estimation, and spent the day ringing steel out to 600 meters. I really enjoyed that.
The third day started with some barrier work out to 450 meters, then we moved to a combination of BSA drills and 12345 drills out to 300 meters. I got a bit frustrated the latter drills because I had a difficult time with some of the mechanics of weapon manipulation. More on that later.
My Weapon.
I used a 20" Sabre Defense 6.5G upper with a Spikes lower and a Geissele SSA trigger, topped with a Leupold Mark 4 MR/T M2 (2.5-8X w/TMR reticle) on a LaRue LT-158. The LT-158 has 10 MOA built in, which was plenty for my weapon at these ranges. It's also a bit lower than the LT-104 (1.44" vs. 1.5") and I was able to get a sight picture with less 'float.' This combo works very well on steel out to 600 meters, and I think I could go to 1000 meters. I never really wished for more magnification out to 600 meters, although a higher-power scope would be much better out past 600 meters. I liked the fact that the Leupold scope is parallax-free at all magnifications, which meant that I never had to adjust parallax, like some of the other guys did. (Disclaimer - I know that no optic is truly 'parallax-free', but I never had a problem with parallax.)
A minor issue was with the Troy TRX Extreme handguard. I couldn't mount the 4" rail all the way forward because the groove inside the handguard that the rail indexes to starts about 4 inches back. This put my bipod back to where it interfered with my weak hand grip in the standing position. Just some stuff to work on. This class did well to expose flaws in the weapon platform (including the shooter.)
The other rifles were an AR-10 (.308) a SCAR-17 (.308) three AR-15's in 5.56, and a 6.8 SPC II. The guy with the 6.8 and I were digging on each other about our choice in rifles (always in a good-natured way, since we both understand that the argument is...well...stupid.) Both cartridges were perfectly capable at 600 meters, and I wouldn't hesitate to take a 6.8 into a defensive position at those ranges (I think my Grendel is better in that role, and in fact I think it might be better than a .308 at those ranges because of its lower recoil, but...there is the question of ammo availablility.) Flame suit ON!
Other positives include the range. A whole lotta wide-open land with benches at the 300 meter lanes and a tower that goes to 1000 meters. It's not a fully developed range like the Manatee range, but I would definitely go to the Volusia range if I was in the area and wanted to do some medium range shooting and action drills. They also have a pistol range, and probably some stuff I didn't see. The RSO's seemed solid, and were not intrusive. You can hunt hogs on the land, and I definitely plan to do that one of these days.
Suggestions for improvement.
The equipment list on the Magpul page needs some tweaking. My notes are in blue:
* Front and Rear Rifle supports. (Bipods and a bean-bag) <span style="color: #3333FF">(Specifically, a rear bag that can be used to dynamically adjust stock height while prone. A 'squishy' bag, if you will.)</span>
* Rifle Cheek Piece (If the weapon's stock is not adjustable) <span style="color: #3333FF">(Nice to have, but if your stock works it's not necessary. Most of the stocks were UBR's, and they worked fine.)</span>
* Rifle Cleaning Equipment <span style="color: #3333FF">(We did not clean our rifles during the class, as it wasn't necessary.)</span>
* Rifle Sling
* Minimum of 6x Magazines <span style="color: #3333FF">(4x magazines was lenty.)</span>
* Load carrying equipment to carry magazines and other kit on your body.
* Weapon Data Book (Provided)
* Pen/Pencil and a Notebook
* Eye and Ear Protection <span style="color: #3333FF">(Active Noise Reduction is of GREAT benefit. There is a lot of instruction going on during live fire, and I had to reduce my level of protection in order to hear the instructor. There were times when I was on the line right next to a .308 with a muzzle brake, and I could feel my ears getting pounded. I normally wear plugs, along with muffs, and I had to take the plugs out. I did not like this. I noticed that several folks had molded in-ear plugs with Active Noise Reduction, and I WILL be getting a set of those. I know they work well even with muffs.)
</span>
* Sturdy footwear
* Clothing appropriate for the weather conditions. (We will shoot rain, shine, sleet or snow. Please be prepared and check the weather.)
* Baseball or Boonie Style Hat
* Water Hydrating Device <span style="color: #3333FF">(A cooler worked fine. We did nothing that required a Camelback-type device.)</span>
* A pack that is suitable for carrying all of your range gear. <span style="color: #3333FF">(Not needed - at least at this range, since we parked close and left most kit in our vehicles.)</span>
* Range Chair (All classroom instruction will be under field conditions.)
* Spotting Scope and Tripod (Recommended but not required for attendance) <span style="color: #3333FF">(I had one, but it wasn't necessary to the class. If you have one on a good tripod, bring it.)</span>
* Binoculars (Recommended but not required for attendance) <span style="color: #3333FF">(Never used mine.)</span>
* Shooting Mat (Recommended but not required for attendance) <span style="color: #3333FF">(I would say this was a must-have. Especially nice if the mat has a bipod stop.)</span>
* Laser Rangefinder (Recommended but not required for attendance) <span style="color: #3333FF">(I never used mine. The instructor ranged all targets.)</span>
* Personal Ballistic Computer/PDA (Recommended but not required for attendance) <span style="color: #3333FF">(I would say this is REQUIRED. Again, 'Shooter' on a smartphone works great.)</span>
* Or your weapon/ammo ballistic data <span style="color: #3333FF">(This is an Intro course, and most people won't have that data. But if you do, then more power to you.)</span>
* Personal Weather Station (Kestrel) (Recommended but not required for attendance) <span style="color: #3333FF">(I never used mine.)</span>
* A Positive Mental Attitude and an Open Mind
I would add a couple of things to the list:
1. Some level of Tactical Carbine training, or at least familiarity with standard weapon system manipulation.
2. An optic with a TMR or a Horus reticle (or some kind of reticle that allows for fine estimation of the size of a target in mils.) At 600 yards, .1 mil results in a pretty large ranging error, and trying to range with a Gen1 Mil-Dot reticle is difficult at best. And ACOGs, as nice as they are, are not even close to being optimal for DMR work. I would recommend an optic with a fine mil reticle and at least 8X magnification. A First Focal Plane optic is also very nice to have for ranging at longer distances. My Leupold is a SFP optic, and it worked fine, but I can see where having a FFP optic is desirable, for sure. I suggest researching FFP and SFP optics if you don't know the differences.)
3. I believe it's incumbent on the student to complete prerequisites prior to any training class. I did not have any dynamic carbine training prior to taking this class. I could have (and should have) guessed that some core tactical skills would be required, but it's not the student's job to guess what the prerequisites are - he/she should be told.
Corollary to that, the first day of the course needs to have a review of basic skills, so that the instructor can determine the competency of each student BEFORE conducting drills in which that competency will be tested in a live fire situation.
The only other criticism I have is that certain things were expected of the students, and I either missed the instruction, or the instructor assumed that we understood those things implicitly.
Example:
In the beginning, only one or two of the students were repeating range commands. I did not know I was supposed to do that until the instructor forcefully stated that we were to do so. When he said "Range Hot!" we were ALL supposed to repeat "Range Hot!" Maybe I missed him telling that to the class. Maybe he assumed we knew to do so. Either way, that needs to be clear in everyone's mind. By the end of the class it was clear.
I think that this class could easily be four days instead of three. We all had our rifles set up pretty well, and got into the drills pretty quickly. Even then I wished we'd had a another day for more 600 meter work, along with some more practice as an observer.
All in all I have nothing but praise for this class, and I encourage anyone who wants to learn the basics of the SPR and DMR role to take the class. I came away with a sense of accomplishment, and also a list of deficiencies in my personal training that I will address. The class was worth every penny, and I will probably take it again if it comes to Florida next year.
