TigerSwan Tactical Pistol/Carbine AAR

[desertmedic]

Good day gentlemen,

Last week I attended the 3 day tactical pistol/carbine course run by TigerSwan in the Ft Bragg area. TigerSwan is owned and operated by Brian Searcy and Bernard Sparrow, both of whom retired from Army SOF units. This was my first time taking such a course so I cannot make any comparisons. It was a very small class with a 1/1 student/instructor ratio so we essentially recieved 3 days of private instruction, and overall I was very happy with the training. The goal stated at the beginning of the course was to make us faster more accurate shooters.

Day 1: We started with pistol work at 25m in the morning focusing on accuracy first. Instruction worked from the ground up on fundamentals....building an aggressive stance, presenting the weapon, grip, etc. Almost all of the pistol work we did was from 25m. Later in the morning we started to work on magazine changes and the basics of malfunction drills. In the afternoon we switched to carbines, and started at 100m again building the fundamentals and basic position work. Towards the end of the day we moved up close and started working some speed drills at around 10m.

Day 2: Essentially the same as day 1. Started to work on the draw and pick up the pace a little. Much more work on mag changes. Began to incorporate strong hand/weak hand only drills. Also started to work target transitions and tempo change drills. In the afternoon we went back to the rifles at 100m for more position drills, started incorporating mag changes, and started to work on steel a little bit.


Day 3: Heavy rain most of the day, we worked thru it. After a few minutes warming up with accuracy drills we started to pick up the pace on target transitions and began to work on movement drills. Movement was forward, lateral, and 45* movements to create space avoiding rearward movement. In the afternoon we started out with speed drills/target transitions and started working movement drills with the rifles. Then we backed out to 100m and started working barricade drills and target transitions on steel. The day ended with and El Presidente at 50m. The importance of dry fire practice was hammered in throughout.

My weapons for the class were a Glock 17 and an LWRC M6A2 piston AR with RCO ACOG. Both weapons ran extremely well. The third day the ACOG started to fog up externally, but the weather was really bad. When I pulled the buffer spring after the class it had started to rust, so it has been replaced with a moly coated Springco piece. I spoke with Brian about gear set up prior to the class and they wanted us to at least start stripped down, so I ran off a belt rig rather than my chest rig for the duration of the class. Look forward to shooting with them again. Stay safe,

Desertmedic

[tom kelly]

What was the cost for the 3 day course of instruction,what types of weapons were discussed and used ? Also how much ammunition was required for the course? Regard's, tom kelly

[The Old Guy]

http://www.tigerswan.biz/

The amount of ammo shot is exciting, 1200 rounds of pistol ammunition, 750 rounds of rifle ammunition. Pricing appears to be very competitive, based on the level of instruction.

They have a lot to offer with depth. I may have to do this to break up the cobwebs and get the blood to flowing again.

[desertmedic]

Tom,

Rifle wise the focus was on AR platforms. Pistol focus was on what we had brought, with the instructors running Glocks. 2 gentlemen on AD ran M-9s and the instructors seemed very knowledgeable on those. Think I used about 1500 rounds pistol and about 800 rifle over the course. Stay safe,

Desertmedic

[STR8SHTR]

We had Brian come in and do a private le class recently for about 16 LEO's. I really enjoyed his class. Below is the AAR I put up on another site. Also here is a link if you want to view some of the pictures from the class.AAR (http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=21135)

October 21-23, 2008 Brain Searcy of TigerSwan conducted a closed three day carbine/pistol class at the Gastonia, N.C. Police Department’s Firing Range. There were sixteen students and all of the students were all law enforcement officers. We started out with Brian introducing himself and then the students introduced themselves.

Brian had a long career in the US Army Special Forces.

Brian Searcy’s Bio:
As President and Chief Operating Officer of TigerSwan, Inc., Brian Searcy manages the company’s growth and core services: security, tactical training, K9 solutions and corporate intelligence.
Prior to this position, he served as a civilian consultant to the Pentagon’s Improvised Explosive Device (IED) Defeat Task Force, working in Iraq and the United States training Soldiers and Marines to predict, detect, and mitigate the threat of IEDs.
Brian served 23 years in Army Special Operations and spent the last 16 years with 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force). His leadership experience included serving as a military advisor in Central and South America and as the Command Sergeant Major for a 1,700 person Joint Special Operations Task Force in Iraq. He briefed the President and members of the National Security Council on capabilities and limitations of special operations forces. He led protection details for high ranking government and military officials in high threat and combat environments, and possesses a wealth of experience in personal and site security in environments worldwide, for example Colombia, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
As a Delta Force instructor, Brian authored and taught classes in assault planning, VIP protection, rifle and pistol marksmanship, explosive and mechanical breaching, close quarters battle and hand to hand combat. He served as the program manager and primary instructor for the Delta’s shooting program. A competitive shooter for over 20 years, Brian competed at the top levels of competition in both precision and action shooting. He is a U.S. Army Distinguished Pistol Shot and has been awarded the President’s Hundred Tab. Other marksmanship accolades include: Overall Winner- 2005 Joint Special Operations Command Small Arms Championships and 2003 North Carolina Indoor Conventional Pistol Champion.

Brian’s assistant instructor for the three days was Kevin S. Kevin spent four years in an U.S. Army Ranger Battalion and seven years in Delta. In Kevin’s eleven years of service in the U.S. Army he has seen numerous combat tours and deployments. Kevin brought a lot to the table based on his training and experience.

For this class I ran a Smith & Wesson Viking Tactics Carbine and a Smith & Wesson M&P .357.

The first drill Brian had us perform was a 25 yard pistol test. All firing was done from the twenty five yard line. The target used was an NRA B8 target with a B-8C repair center. The B-8C repair center has a smaller bullseye than the regular B-8 target. The test was timed and scored. It was a very humbling experience to say the least. The scores were recorded so they could be used as a benchmark to compare against the students final test.

Once the test scores were recorded, we moved right into stance, grip, sight alignment and sight picture. We then started shooting again at the twenty five. The entire time we were shooting, Brian and his AI were constantly monitoring the shooters and giving them feedback on their performance. Brian wanted to make sure we were dialed in before moving onto more complicated drills. Accuracy is first with Brian.

We did this several times, then moved in closer to the target. Once we moved closer we worked on one shot to the body, then two shots to the body. We then worked on tempo shooting with two to the body then two to the head. Brian stresses marksmanship the entire time you are shooting. Later in the morning we conducted a version of the ball and dummy drill where the shooter’s coach either places a round in the weapon or doesn’t and the shooter works the trigger. I really like this drill since the shooter doesn’t know whether the pistol is loaded or not. Just before lunch we conducted multiple target engagements with three targets. By the end of the first morning we had fired approximately four hundred rounds. Marksmanship fundamentals were stressed with all four hundred rounds.

After lunch we confirmed zeros, which took up time because a couple of shooters had zeroing issues. After the zeros were confirmed, we moved right into a 100 yard skills test using NRA B8 with 8C center. After completing the skills test, Brian covered slings, optics and other equipment along with shooting positions.

On day two we started out with more 25 yard line pistol work. Brian added more strong and weak hand only shooting. Brian also covered the kneeling and prone positions. Once we completed the twenty five yard line, we moved into working targets from the ten yard line. We worked single body shots then progressed to the head. We also practiced tempo drills, working two rounds to the body then moving to the head with two shots. After several of these drills we started working multiple targets with two shots to the body. After working the body we moved onto working the body on one, head on the middle targets then two to the body on the third.

After completing these drills we worked on shooting from retention. We worked single target engagements then moved onto working a single target, into working multiple targets while moving and reloading.

After lunch we changed to rifles. Brian covered shooting positions from the hundred. Once we shot several drills from the hundred we moved to the ten for some work. Here we worked single target engagements to multiple targets. We worked tempo drills from the ten yard line with these targets.

On day three after completing the initial pistol work we divided into two groups. One group worked one the steel range and the other group tested with pistols on the pistol range. We moved into shooting on the move with the pistol and rifle. Brian covered shooting on the move by lecture and demonstration. Brian gave some great instruction about shooting on the move and how to be very accurate while performing this task. Brian also stressed knowing your own limitations when shooting on the move.
We shot on the move by moving directly into the target and laterally to the target. We did this with pistol and rifle.

In the afternoon of the third day we took the one hundred yard rifle test for score. This final score was compared to the first days test scores. Once we completed the rifle test we started shooting around barricades. Brian lectured and demonstrated the proper way to shoot around obstacles and barricades. Once he completed the demonstration the students took their turn. Some of the students had never been exposed to shooting around barricades like this and the different positions used to get hits on the bad guy. The students thoroughly enjoyed this exercise.

The weather during the three days was perfect for outside shooting.

The total round count for the class was about 1500 pistol and 1000 rifle.

Overall this was an outstanding class. During the three days the students were safe and everyone learned as much as possible.

Brian was an outstanding instructor and so was his AI Kevin S. Both men bring a lot of real gun fighting experience to the table and that goes a long way when trying to make a point about what works and what doesn’t. What really makes both of these guys shine is the fact that both are generally nice guys.

After what I observed and absorbed over the three days, I can highly recommend Brian Searcy’s classes to anyone who needs this kind of training.