MDFI Cover and Movement

Today I attended MDFI's Cover and Movement Class, and I'm all sorts of sore.

Pulled into the range at 8:30 am and got signed in and everything laid out for the day.

After an intro and safety briefing we did the qualifier, which is somehow more challenging with everyone watching you do it.

Interestingly 6 out of 7 rifle shooters and the main instructor were running suppressors on their ARs, with the seventh shooter running a loud muzzle brake with impressive blast effects.  The suppressors certainly reduced the noise on the line. 

Everybody qualified including myself, even with one failure with the AR-15 not fully ejecting a case. 

The class picked up speed and was very much a movement class.

 We started with standing, squatting kneeling, double kneeling and prone and working out way through each position while shooting. 

By the time we were done that everyone was already rather dirty from hitting the ground to go prone.

Next time, knee and elbow pads would be a great idea to bring.  Managed to smack my knee nicely even landing on the inside of it as demonstrated and its all sorts of sore. 

Indeed, I have discovered I have less flexibility than I thought I had.   No, I cannot put my ankle flat to the ground while kneeling on one knee.

Next came urbane prone and supine shooting positions.

 After that was cover as in shooting around it and then using a CTAC barricade to shoot from various ports simulating cover at different heights.

After that was a heavy focus on movement with box drills and then shooting while moving and a box drill for that too.

Definitely a good class, if impressively tiring and frustrating. Learnign has occurred, and I need to get out and practice weapon manipulation while in these sorts of positions and moving a lot more. 

MDFI's Foundation Handgun Class

This weekend I attended MDFI's Foundation Handgun Class. 

Part of the reason for doing so was as attending it with a bunch of friends - Tosh, Jason, Spencer and two of Tosh's cousins from New York would be attending. So we'd be a pretty good proportion of the class, 6 of the 16 participants, and Spencer and Tosh's cousins had never taken a foundation level or equivalent handgun training class before. I was shooting my Sig P320 for this class.

The other reason for attending a foundation level class, is that attending a foundation level class is always good opportunity to go over and reinforce the fundamentals of defensive handgun shooting.  It's an opportunity to really work the basics, try to pick up some more nuggets of wisdom, and work to improve a bit at a comfortable pace rather than drinking from a fire-hose in a more advanced class. Plus it is a fun way to spend a day with friends.

Pretty eclectic group of attendees.  There was one Michigan State Police trooper, a few nurses, various contractors, engineers, EMTs, and even two lawyers. 

The class started off with a beginning shooting exercise of shooting a 1 inch circle at 10 yards. Jason and I were teamed up as partners on Target 7 on relay 1 and 2 respectively, and we did the best in terms of accuracy on the opening exercise.  This was happy making.

After a few more shooting exercises, the instructors told Jason and I that instead of aiming at the 6 inch circle at the center of the target, all shots we were to from then on only shoot at the box in the head of the target to make it more challenging.  So we did.

The class had a very logical progression and built from that basic accuracy to drawing efficiently from a holster, defensive shooting considerations, and on to malfunction clearing.

Malfunction clearing was fun, and excellent practice. We induced malfunctions by randomly stuffing 10 empty cases in two magazines - the empty case could not be the first nor last round but other than that it could be anywhere inn the mage.  You then shot until you hit a malfunction had to clear the malfunction and continue shooting  while maintaining accuracy with each shot.

I really like MDFI's process for dealing with a malfunction that tends to resolve just about all clear-able malfunctions in a semi-auto:  Tap, Rack, Unload, rack, Reload, Rack and if necessary repeat an additional time. Most malfunctions cleared at the Tap, Rack portion of the process, but some jammed up sufficiently to requiring unloading (removing the magazine), then racking it again, reloading, racking a new round into the chamber and continuing.    

If that didn't clear it you moved on the the 7R clearance drill - Rack, Rip, Rack, Rack, Re-asses, Reload, Rack.

Jason's Glock for some reason, likely a combination of having an aftermarket barrel and insufficient lubrication, gave some of the weirdest malfunctions with the empty cases - flipping them around and then jamming them into place, double feeding, locking the slide up tight, etc.  If a weird malfunction could happen, he got it. Great practice.

Spencer learned that a Shield Plus having malfunctions is kinda hard to clear as the short slide didn't provide a lot of purchase for his hands, and the small slide didn't provide as much leverage for racking either.

Lots of great practice and learning occurred.

The final part of the class was the qualifier.

The qualifier is 14 rounds with 4 sections, each with a 6 second par time. If you fire more than 14 shots its a DQ, firing a shot over time is down 1 on your score.

The Qualifier is as follows:

1. From compressed ready 5 shots at 10 Yards.

2. From holster 4 shots at 10 Yards.

3. From compressed ready 1 shot, speed reload 2 shots at 10 Yards.

4. From compressed ready 1 shot, slide lock reload (have an empty magazine in the gun to start) 1 shot at 10 Yards.

Overall not a bad qualifier.  12/14 hits on the 8.5x11 paper is a pass, 12/14 inside the inner rectangle is an advanced, which is required to take the advanced classes.

I was running appendix carry for the class as that is how I carry, and ran the qualifier from concealment. Only issue was the sun was coming down as we shot the qualifier.  The sun was blasting was right in my eyes the entire time, so much so it was hard to see the target. This added some extra difficulty.

However I'm pleased to report that I not only passed as advanced but I did the  only clean run in the class, with 14/14 shots inside the inner rectangle with time to spare on each section.

That shot at the top just inside the box was the final round of the qualifier where I was practically guessing where the target was as the sun was straight in my eyes at that point.

That result was happy-making, and I earned my first ever MDFI bomb patch for having the top score in the class and the only participant to do a clean run.

MDFI offers some great and professional training. 

If you're in Michigan and all you've ever taken in terms of handgun instruction was your CPL class, then MDFI's Foundation Handgun will be both eye-opening and a very useful opportunity to enhance your training and proficiency with a handgun.

Gunschool Sunday - MDFI Foundation Shotgun

Since the last time I took a shotgun class was at LFI II way back when, it was time for a bit of a refresher. 

I had signed up for MDFI's Foundation Shotgun to be held in Caro, MI and 4 more of my friends also signed up for it.  Tosh, his cousin Richie from NY, Jason, and Spencer.  First formal training class for Spencer, which made it interesting as he is very much a Gun Culture 1.0 (hunting, everything I need to know I learned from my dad, Taurus Judge is awesome, ugh) type guy working on transitioning to 2.0.

Tosh, Richie, and I originally planned to fly to Caro and get picked up by Jason at the airport, 10 minutes away from the range, thus saving the drive. This would have been rather epic.

It was not to be.  

Weather forecast had thunderstorms en route and back, low IFR conditions with the potential for the ceiling to drop below minimums at Caro at the time of our arrival, and other unpleasantness that I did not feel made for a safe flight at all. 

So I called it and we drove instead. Decent yet unremarkable drive in thus resulted.  Turns out it was very much the correct choice - ceilings were too low on the way there, and the thunderstorms that erupted both during the class and during the expected departure times on the way back nailed it as the right choice. Epic will have to wait.

Class as usual started with an intro, and then a very detailed safety briefing and  detailed emergency plan.

The Instructors, as is usual with MDFI were excellent, attentive, and kept the energy up during class with a great teaching manner.

Lots of Benellis on the line, quite a few Mossberg 500s, some Stoegers and a Mosberg 930s.  I had my Remington 870 along. Tosh and Richie had matching Mossberg 590A1 with 20 inch barrels and Magpul furniture.  Nice guns but Richie's had some breaking in issues with the pump needing some lubrication or it wouldn't easily pickup the next round, and the stock needing to be shortened a tad, both of which were done and it then worked much better.

Started off with basic inspection and inventory of the shotguns, safe handling and movement,  loading and unloading techniques,  carry and shooting techniques, and then we got to some shooting drills. Immediately went into how best to manage shotgun recoil.

ESSTAC cards were extremely popular there.  Pretty much everyone was running them. I had the hard plastic shell carrier on my 870 and while the hard plastic ones are currently being frowned upon compared to the ESSTAC ones, due to the strain the plastic carriers apparently put on the trigger group pins, it was easier and faster to manipulate the shells both loading the carrier and unloading it than the ESSTAC cards, but I can see the value in those too.

Then we went on with how to pattern a shotgun.

Interestingly, 9 pellet Federal Flite Control does tend to throw a pellet from the group and we saw that with everyone's shotgun who had brought that load.  Pretty much all were still within the target but one pellet would end up away from the rest of the shot group.

I had brought along 8 pellet  Federal Flite Control and the results were rather interesting.  Here's the target showing groups from 5, 12 and 20 yards (note I pulled the 12 yard shot as I was in a hurry, so the left impact has nothing to do with the ammo itself, it went right where the shotgun was pointed at the time):

Very low recoil and no spread through 20 yards at all - the shot just flew together making a solid hole through the target.  Interesting.

Neighbor on the line was shooting 9 pellet Flite Control, and at 20 yards the Flite Control Wad from his shot was actually embedded in his target.

We then moved on to emergency reloads and ammunition select drills. Including under time pressure - each person started with an empty shotgun.  Person to your left fired one and then said "Go", you had to immediately fire one and so on.  This continued for 5 rounds so you had to constantly top off your shotgun.  Then we did it from empty shotguns and had to do emergency reloads for each set.  Quite fun and noisy.  It's called  the Rolling Thunder drill.

That rolling thunder drill inspired Mother Nature to chime in with a Thunderstorm complete with a close by lightning strike so class was paused as we all ran to our cars and got in as they were the safest place to be.  Holding metal sticks during active lightning strikes was counter-indicated.

While the rain then let up, that pretty much ended the class as more thunderstorms were on the way so we did not shoot the qualifier at the end.  Good call as indeed more thunderstorms did pass on through, and more confirmation that cancelling flying there was correct.

Excellent class, great instruction, great bunch of shooters,  and a great refresher on shotgun handling.  Highly recommend the class if you;re looking to use a shotgun for self-defense or need a refresher in doing so in a no-ego, positive learning environment.

Gun School - MDFI Foundation Carbine

Yesterday,  I got up early and headed out to Grass Lake, Michigan for MDFI's foundation carbine class.  My first carbine class, so I was looking forward to it.

Grass Lake is west of Ann Arbor, so it was about an hour away in the relatively light Sunday morning traffic.  Having never been to the range there, it was a good thing I left early, as the range wasn't quite where the mapping software said it was, which led to a bit of consternation.  Turns out it was actually about a mile from where the mapping software said the entrance was, but at least the entrance was on the same street so all was well. Not a huge deal but it's good to be early.  

I got there and unpacked in a light rain that soon became a minor downpour.  Fun training.  Luckily, some people had brought some canopies and generously shared their space. 

We all got checked in, with one no-show.  So the class started with 19 students and 4 instructors, which was a very good ratio for a basic carbine class.

The safety and objectives briefing was lengthy and properly serious. 

 It was going to be a hot range, with the students responsible for keeping their carbines loaded and ready at all times, so careful muzzle discipline at all times was the order of the day. Excellent instruction and demonstration of the proper method of picking up and slinging a loaded carbine and moving in a way that you do not muzzle yourself or anyone else.  Since we would be donning and doffing the carbines multiple times throughout the day and moving on and off the line with them, this was good to learn right off the bat and everyone was committed to doing so safely.

The rain then stopped and eventually the sun came out, which was nice.

Then we went over basics of I&I - inspection and inventory - checking over all the failure points of the firearm to make sure all was ready from muzzle to the heel of the stock- mounts, lights, optics and mounts properly tightened down, sling properly configured, ammunition ready.  Good procedure.

The class was then divided into two squads with one shooting and one learning by observing.  This also let the 4 instructors really pay close attention, and give personal attention to the shooters which was helpful.

Then there was a warm-up at 5 yards.  17 of the students were running AR15s, one was running an AK, and I brought along my Tavor X95 with the can as I wanted to work on it and get better with it. 

I had not shot the Tavor at such a short range and I had to work on my sight hold as my normal sight picture would shoot low at 5 yards.  Good to know.

Almost immediately, we had a couple AR-15s lock up as they were being run drier than the proverbial popcorn fart. 

One had to be mortared open which was instructive  - to mortar an AR  (1. Move stock to its closed position [or you will bend/break the stock tube], 2.  Put safety on if possible, 3. Keep muzzle in safe direction, 4. With a hand pushing on charging handle, wham the stock in the the dirt in an attempt to free the charging handle/bolt - it works).

In short for semi-auto rifles, clean and dry is iffy in terms of function, clean and dirty is very iffy in terms of function, clean and wet should work, and dirty and wet should work.  After some generous lubrication was applied to both of the ARs they were then up and running for the rest of the class.

Next we did the different ready positions, threat engagement, and post threat scan including how to do a 360 degree scan without muzzling anyone or yourself with muzzle either up or down. 

After that was various reload techniques. Reloads with retention, speed reloads, and emergency reloads were done with the various varieties explained and practiced.  The L shape for fast retention reloads works really well on the Tavor, the OK technique doesn't work well at all given the position of the magazine well and your shoulder.

One new insight came out of the reload portion.  You can stuff 31 rounds into a Magpul PMAG.  If you're doing a reload with a round in the chamber and the bolt forward, the magazine will not want to fit into the gun as a result.  Something to watch for.

Then we did hands-on malfunction drills including how to clear double feeds and the brass over bolt malfunction. This involved setting up the malfunction for your opposite squad member without them seeing what you did, and they had to diagnose and fix the problem and get the carbine back in action.  Fun.

My Tavor ran like a top throughout the class with no issues, and cleared simulated malfunctions like double feeds without a problem.

Then we finished up with the qualifier which was 14 rounds.  I hit all 14 in the advanced inner box but was just too slow on the reloads, having badly bungled one and that cost me.  I now know what to practice, as I have not previously practiced rifle reloads on the clock, but will now.  Good to know what to work on to improve.

It was an all-day class starting at 9 and ending at 6:30, and very well run.

Foundation carbine is both a stand-alone class and MDFI's gateway to their more advanced carbine classes. As a comprehensive, basic-level class, it gave a good grounding in the fundamentals of carbine handling and usage. It was an excellent full day of instruction with a great set of instructors and a great set of students.

MDFI - Low Light Handgun Class

On Friday Duffy and I headed to Albion, Michigan, for MDFI's Low Light Handgun class.

We got to the range at about 4:00, and checked in, getting there a half hour early.

Traffic and construction on I-94 caught a few of the participants so it was a bit after 5:00 before the introduction and safety briefing started.

We had a very detailed safety brief and objective of the course brief, by Trek, the head instructor, and Shane the assistant instructor.  The thoroughness was welcome, considering we would be shooting in darkness.  

Then on to the qualifier.

Overall it's pretty easy, with 6 second time limits for each component of the drill, shooting at 7 yards.
5 shots from compressed ready
4 shots from the holster
1 round speed reload 2 rounds
1 round with an empty magazine, reload from slide lock, 1 round.

This is pretty simple, but it was complicated by the sun being right above and behind the targets and shining right in our eyes, and between my shooting glasses and the glass of the red dot, just seeing the target was difficult as the glare was blinding. 

You needed 12 in the inner rectangle for the advanced score.  I put all 14 in the rectangle.  Not bad for not being able to see the target.

Everyone passed the qualification.

We then did some shooting drills and warm ups as the sun began to set.

Next, was a discussion and demonstration and practice of handheld flashlight techniques and then weapon-mounted flashlight techniques and why and when to use each, including how to do a safe 360 degree scan of the area after engaging a target without muzzling anyone else or yourself for that matter.

Handheld techniques were the FBI, the modified FBI, the syringe, the neck index, temple index and the Harries techniques. 

We also covered purposes for using the lights, and how to do weapons malfunction clearances in the dark. 

We practiced all those in the twilight.

Then it started getting dark.

Everyone put on red glowsticks, one in front and one in back.

Targets then became pretty much invisible in the dark.

We ran the flashlight drills, both handheld and weapon mounted, and then we loaded up magazines with a mix of live rounds and fired casings and did malfunction clearance drills in the dark.

Then we did some shooting from cover and how to use the flashlights and not have the light flashback and blind you as you did it. Then from cover with simulated moving targets.  Adding to the fun were some strobe pyrotechnics and smoke that unexpectedly were added to make it a bit more stressful which was also a lot of fun.

We next worked on countering other people's lights and being able to see and identify them even when they were shining a light towards us, this was pretty useful.  I had a new Modlite as a hand-held and yes, it will punch through a Surefire light to identify a target holding it.  You can also throw the light beam at their feet and then see the target, which is a useful technique.

The final exercise was a blind run through a photo-realistic set of targets from behind cover.  - with a light from the targets pointing towards you. You had to identify with your light and not shoot the friendlies but engage the threats and quickly. 

 Overall I did very well, unlike someone else who shot the innocent old man holding a cane perfectly in the A zone.  But, I and every other single one of the 16 people in the class shot a target in a yellow windbreaker pointing a gun in our direction.

Unfortunately, on his belt, obscured by the glare of the light by the target with the target lined up just for that purpose was a very small badge on his belt.  Crap.  Nobody saw it during the drill, only in the debrief,  everyone focused on the weapon pointed towards us and didn't see the badge in the glare and shot.

Certainly a good primer on getting as much info on a possible threat as possible. 

We shot in the dark until midnight. 

It got rather cold, and I was shooting from concealment from appendix with mags also concealed, under a jacket and a hoody sweatshirt which made draws interesting.  Most other class attendees wore OWB ALS rigs which let them keep their jackets zipped up.  Good experience but next time I'm going to put on some polypropelyne under my shirt.

A few of the attendees had night vision rigs, and the instructors did as well and those were phenomenal.    The head instructor let everyone try his set out and it was amazing.  We had the assistant instructor about 20 yards away and he completely disappeared into the darkness. With the night vision , You literally could see him clearly in the dark and how many fingers he was holding up.    Spendy as all heck, but man, that's some impressive stuff.

Then on to a debrief. Everyone at the class shot well, there were no safety issues and we all learned a lot.

There's not a lot of opportunity for night shooting and night shooting classes so this was a very educational and eye-opening experience. I'd certainly recommend taking a night shooting class to any firearms owner, and MDFI offers a truly excellent one that is very professionally done, very organized and offers excellent skill development.