Last week, I was lucky enough to be a guest at The Mid-South Institute for Self Defense Shooting.
http://www.weaponstraining.com/
For years I had heard stories of this range from a SEAL buddy of mine from college, so actually getting to shoot there was a bit of a dream come true. This place is Disney Land for shooters, and if you wear a SEAL trident, you learned how to shoot at MSI. Any of you can look at the pictures on their web site and see that it is just about 50 acres of ranges, almost all with reactive steel targets. I felt like a kid in a candy store the entire time, but did manage to learn a few things that I would like to share.
Even though I wanted to ride every roller coaster at once, we started off with 9mm on one of the the pistol ranges. First of all, it was a great chance to build confidence. For my first time on a range like that, I handled myself pretty well and all of the work that I had done on my paper range really paid off. I was able to knock down the steel with respectable speed and above average accuracy. Then, the range master shot did some demos...and I was totally humbled. Holy smoke!!! You could drive an aircraft carrier between the difference in my "pretty good" and his "world class". This guy was knocking down the targets with accuracy and keeping no less than 3-4 shell casings in the air at the same time. "Fast" does not begin to describe it. You would think that someone that good would show a tiny bit of ego, but I have never met a more humble and professional instructor. I got some great tips to help with my grip and stance. One of the best things was that he worked with my wife on some of the basics and she really improved quickly.
After spending about an hour and a half on the pistol range, I got to break out the AR and do some longer distance shooting. When I took my rifle out of the bag, it was met with "Oooh, old school. Iron sights only huh?" We had a pretty good optic discussion that I will get into later. The range that I shot my AR on was the long distance one (staying in one place, not a move-n-shoot), with targets of varied sizes out to 150 yards. This range was a real blast, and shooting steel is a lot of fun. I got a real education on 5.56 ballistics, and it is a lot easier to learn in practice than it is reading in a book. It is one thing to read about what the "military zero" means at 100 yards and out, it's another to put in into practice at that range and beyond. I can still see target #7 in my sleep. 3 steel plates about half the size of a sheet of notebook paper at 125 yards...TOUGH. Especially when you are shooting for time. Just for a frame of reference, at that range the target is half the size of your front sight post. Dad always said to set the target right on top of the blade, and Mel Gibson said "aim small, miss small". All good things to remember, along with your 5.56 ballistics. Knowing where your round is on it's flight path is essential to hitting small targets at that distance.
In about 3 hours of shooting, I probably got to use about 10% of the ranges. I can't want to go back and try some of the others.
As far as weapons and ammo go, I was surprised to learn that everyone including one of the nation's top training facilities is having the same trouble getting weapons and ammo that we are. It really is a nation wide issue. I asked if they had a favorite pistol, and they lean towards Sig because that is what the people they train are issued. My M&P didn't get any dirty looks.
As for optics/sights, let me start by explaining why I have stuck with iron sights (for now). First of all, my SEAL Master Chief friend said that he prefers irons over any optic, and he knows better than me. I grew up using iron sights, I am used to them, and have fired thousands of rounds with iron sights. I don't like the idea of becoming over reliant on an electronic gadget or having my life depend on a battery.
At the end of our shooting session, I got to handle the range master's rig and go over why he has it set up the way he does. He had an Aimpoint with 2 MOA dot, irons co-witnessed, a fore grip, and shorter barrel than you can buy off the rack. While I got (mild) compliments for how I handled my irons they made it clear that there was no substitute for the speed of a red dot once you start running and gunning. The fore grip is also really useful for holding the rifle in position while reloading. I had never had one of those before either and had resisted because I had it in my mind that it was more "tacti-cool" than functional. I have probably changed my mind on that.
I will probably make a move on an optic in the next few months, but I am still not sure what I am going to get. Maybe I need to go back and re-read the Aim Point vs EO Tech thread. I still want to work some more with my irons, because I am humbled to the point of knowing how much room I have to improve. I have still not put 1000 rounds through my AR, and I want to feel totally confident in all situations with my irons before I start to cheat.
The humbling process made one other thing plenty clear, the level of weapons training that we get as Naval Aviators is poor. I learned more about tactical shooting in 3 hours at MSI than I had in the Navy up to that point. Same thing for our AW's. We train for CSAR and "train" our aircrewmen to go out on GRE elements, but they don't really know how to use the weapons that we issue them. If I was holding the purse strings at any of the weapons school, I would be booking tickets for a team of AW's to go out to MSI and get up to speed on weapons handling. If any of your squadrons have TAD money to burn, this is the place to do it. The facilities are incredible, and the instructors have a wealth of knowledge.
Bevo gives it 2 thumbs up.
http://www.weaponstraining.com/
For years I had heard stories of this range from a SEAL buddy of mine from college, so actually getting to shoot there was a bit of a dream come true. This place is Disney Land for shooters, and if you wear a SEAL trident, you learned how to shoot at MSI. Any of you can look at the pictures on their web site and see that it is just about 50 acres of ranges, almost all with reactive steel targets. I felt like a kid in a candy store the entire time, but did manage to learn a few things that I would like to share.
Even though I wanted to ride every roller coaster at once, we started off with 9mm on one of the the pistol ranges. First of all, it was a great chance to build confidence. For my first time on a range like that, I handled myself pretty well and all of the work that I had done on my paper range really paid off. I was able to knock down the steel with respectable speed and above average accuracy. Then, the range master shot did some demos...and I was totally humbled. Holy smoke!!! You could drive an aircraft carrier between the difference in my "pretty good" and his "world class". This guy was knocking down the targets with accuracy and keeping no less than 3-4 shell casings in the air at the same time. "Fast" does not begin to describe it. You would think that someone that good would show a tiny bit of ego, but I have never met a more humble and professional instructor. I got some great tips to help with my grip and stance. One of the best things was that he worked with my wife on some of the basics and she really improved quickly.
After spending about an hour and a half on the pistol range, I got to break out the AR and do some longer distance shooting. When I took my rifle out of the bag, it was met with "Oooh, old school. Iron sights only huh?" We had a pretty good optic discussion that I will get into later. The range that I shot my AR on was the long distance one (staying in one place, not a move-n-shoot), with targets of varied sizes out to 150 yards. This range was a real blast, and shooting steel is a lot of fun. I got a real education on 5.56 ballistics, and it is a lot easier to learn in practice than it is reading in a book. It is one thing to read about what the "military zero" means at 100 yards and out, it's another to put in into practice at that range and beyond. I can still see target #7 in my sleep. 3 steel plates about half the size of a sheet of notebook paper at 125 yards...TOUGH. Especially when you are shooting for time. Just for a frame of reference, at that range the target is half the size of your front sight post. Dad always said to set the target right on top of the blade, and Mel Gibson said "aim small, miss small". All good things to remember, along with your 5.56 ballistics. Knowing where your round is on it's flight path is essential to hitting small targets at that distance.
In about 3 hours of shooting, I probably got to use about 10% of the ranges. I can't want to go back and try some of the others.
As far as weapons and ammo go, I was surprised to learn that everyone including one of the nation's top training facilities is having the same trouble getting weapons and ammo that we are. It really is a nation wide issue. I asked if they had a favorite pistol, and they lean towards Sig because that is what the people they train are issued. My M&P didn't get any dirty looks.
As for optics/sights, let me start by explaining why I have stuck with iron sights (for now). First of all, my SEAL Master Chief friend said that he prefers irons over any optic, and he knows better than me. I grew up using iron sights, I am used to them, and have fired thousands of rounds with iron sights. I don't like the idea of becoming over reliant on an electronic gadget or having my life depend on a battery.
At the end of our shooting session, I got to handle the range master's rig and go over why he has it set up the way he does. He had an Aimpoint with 2 MOA dot, irons co-witnessed, a fore grip, and shorter barrel than you can buy off the rack. While I got (mild) compliments for how I handled my irons they made it clear that there was no substitute for the speed of a red dot once you start running and gunning. The fore grip is also really useful for holding the rifle in position while reloading. I had never had one of those before either and had resisted because I had it in my mind that it was more "tacti-cool" than functional. I have probably changed my mind on that.
I will probably make a move on an optic in the next few months, but I am still not sure what I am going to get. Maybe I need to go back and re-read the Aim Point vs EO Tech thread. I still want to work some more with my irons, because I am humbled to the point of knowing how much room I have to improve. I have still not put 1000 rounds through my AR, and I want to feel totally confident in all situations with my irons before I start to cheat.
The humbling process made one other thing plenty clear, the level of weapons training that we get as Naval Aviators is poor. I learned more about tactical shooting in 3 hours at MSI than I had in the Navy up to that point. Same thing for our AW's. We train for CSAR and "train" our aircrewmen to go out on GRE elements, but they don't really know how to use the weapons that we issue them. If I was holding the purse strings at any of the weapons school, I would be booking tickets for a team of AW's to go out to MSI and get up to speed on weapons handling. If any of your squadrons have TAD money to burn, this is the place to do it. The facilities are incredible, and the instructors have a wealth of knowledge.
Bevo gives it 2 thumbs up.
