Paul Howe/CSAT Tactical Rifle Class

[Air.177]

Thanks to JATX for the heads up on the Paul Howe Rifle class last weekend. Nice range facility, Paul is a great instructor. Had a great time and learned quite a bit about the basics of running a rifle from 7 to 300 yds.

[jatx]

I'm glad you could make it, I learned a lot, too. I'm going to check with Paul before posting my AAR to make sure that I don't reveal anything too proprietary.

In general, though, Paul is a great instructor and I have to agree with Blake about the facilities. His emphasis is on "surgical shooting" over speed, although my speed improved a lot over the course of the weekend. It felt great watching my one shot times from 7 yds. drop from about 1.5 seconds to .84 seconds.

Next up: CSAT's Tactical Pistol course in two weeks.

[Team Sergeant]

Originally Posted by jatx

His emphasis is on "surgical shooting" over speed,

I wonder where that came from........

Any point shooting techniques in his classes?

TS

[The Reaper]

Paul is a Great American.

TR

[Team Sergeant]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Paul is a Great American.

TR

He's also probably the best weapons instructor in the country at the moment.

[Air.177]

Originally Posted by The Reaper

Paul is a Great American.

TR

BTW Sir,
He sends his regards.

Good times,
Blake

[jatx]

Originally Posted by Team Sergeant

I wonder where that came from........

Any point shooting techniques in his classes?

TS

No point shooting, TS. We were taught that each shot requires two full sight pictures.

BTW, thanks for the recommendation awhile back.

[Endorphin Rush]

I've been to two of Paul's courses. Paul is the quintessential instructor. He's also one of the nicest guys you'll have the chance to meet.

Another thanks out to Team Sergeant for having recommended him.

[Team Sergeant]

Originally Posted by Endorphin Rush

Another thanks out to Team Sergeant for having recommended him.

I just thought about who I'd listen to as a weapons instructor and for teaching military, LEO's and civies you're not going to find anyone (that is teaching weapons & tactics) as good as Paul. I've never met him but I know his background and what's he's been taught.
99.999% of the people will never to get a chance to get that level of weapons instruction.

[NousDefionsDoc]

Originally Posted by Team Sergeant

He's also probably the best weapons instructor in the country at the moment.

Hey!...Never mind, kg and I are still OCONUS.

I'd like to read the AAR if he's cool with it. I've never met him either, but after reading his book, I know he's got his head right. And that's 90% of the battle.

[swatsurgeon]

As to the 'surgical shooting': slower is faster, efficiency breeds speed....speed alone breeds mistakes.....sounds like something the TS whispered in my ear on the range way back in S.C.

ss

[Smokin Joe]

Originally Posted by NousDefionsDoc

I'd like to read the AAR if he's cool with it. I've never met him either, but after reading his book, I know he's got his head right. And that's 90% of the battle.

Ditto.

Also, what kind of optics where most running in the class?

[Air.177]

Originally Posted by Smokin Joe

Ditto.

Also, what kind of optics where most running in the class?

Joe,
I saw lots of Eotechs, at least one ACOG, and at least one Leupold low power variable. Lots of Irons too.

I know of at least 3 POF Piston uppers, and of those, I know that 2 of them had some problems with one of those being an 11" that had TONS of issues and eventually laid down completely.

To the best of my knowledge, I was the only person in the class masochistic enough to run a 20" HBAR (with irons)

Gear was all over the spectrum from myself and my buddy who ran one rifle mag carrier, one pistol mag carrier, concealment holsters and back pockets full of 30 rounders; To full chest rigs/plate carriers and thigh rigs with everything in between.

Lots of knowledge exchange between students, good opportunities to discuss different options.

Good times,
Blake

[jatx]

Background

After entering military service last year, I began investigating ways to maintain and improve my shooting skills. I expect to deploy overseas very soon after becoming branch qualified and therefore feel the need to work on these critical skills on my own time and at my own expense. However, I was not interested in instructors lacking a SOF background or in those catering to the “gun game” crowd. Team Sergeant recommended Paul Howe to me, placing him at the top of a very short list.

Paul runs a shooting school near Nacogdoches, Texas, named Combat Shooting & Tactics. Last year, the opportunities to train with him were limited somewhat by work he was doing with Triple Canopy. However, around Christmas time I was on his website and saw that he had both Tactical Rifle and Tactical Pistol classes open early this year. I immediately enrolled in both.

Facilities

CSAT sits on several dozen acres of rolling woodland just south of town. There is a running stream and abundant wildlife, including wild pigs and coyote. Multiple ranges have been constructed, including one covered 100 yard range, another 100 yard range with barricades and reactive steel targets, a “sniper hill” with 200 and 300 yard lanes, an elaborate obstacle course, and a “scrambler” course with about a dozen stations. For the last of these, imagine a sort of tactical sporting clays course with each point requiring a mix of rifle and pistol shots on steel at ranges from 25 to 200 yards.

There are also two classrooms, including one open air area and another indoors. There are multiple hotels and restaurants within minutes of the facility, as well as good nightlife options owing to the presence of Stephen F. Austin State University.

Overall Orientation

The shooting system taught at CSAT is geared toward making lethal hits at realistic ranges and speeds. Students in my class included a mix of private citizens, contractors, LEOs and National Guard SF soldiers. All arrived with a sound base of skills and experience.

Paul’s goal with students is to give them a basis and program for improving on those skills over time. He measures progress based on individual performance when shooting his “standards”, which are 11 drills with corresponding time goals. All shooting is done on modified IPSC torso targets with a kill zone approximately five inches wide and extending from the bottom of the sternum to the neck. His philosophy is that, in order to quickly incapacitate with the 5.56 round, bullets must strike the spine, the heart and its immediate blood vessels, or the brain. Whether the target is viewed from the side or the front, this kill zone is the same size.

The standards are:

1. 1 shot/1 target, 7 yards, 1 second
2. 2 shots/1 target, 7 yards, 1.5 seconds
3. 5 shots to torso, 1 to head/1 target, 7 yards, 3 seconds
4. 2 shots/2 targets, 7 yards, 3 seconds
5. 1 shot rifle, 1 shot pistol/1 target, 7 yards, 3 seconds
6. 5 shots/1 target, 100 yards prone unsupported, 15 seconds
7. 5 shots/1 target, 75 yards kneeling, 12 seconds
8. 5 shots/1 target, 50 yards kneeling, 10 seconds
9. 5 shots/1 target, 25 yards standing, 8 seconds
10. 5 shots/1 target, 200 yards prone unsupported, 15 seconds
11. 5 shots/1 target, 300 yards prone unsupported, 15 seconds

The starting position for all drills, including prone and kneeling shots, is standing at the low ready. Students are measured on the standards early in the first day of instruction for a baseline, then repeatedly throughout the weekend to measure their progress. The ratio of dry to live fire during the course is approximately 70/30, and I shot about 800 rounds of rifle ammunition and another 50 or so of pistol over the course of two days.

Most of the first day was spent refining student technique on these standards. Paul’s emphasis is on accuracy and economy of motion, not speed (although most students experienced an increase in speed after two days). Shots impacting outside of his kill zone are not counted as hits. Firing is done from a slightly bladed fighting stance and all shots require a full and complete sight picture and follow-through. Emphasis is placed on developing a firing rhythm that takes advantage of the natural respiratory cycle, just as the Army teaches during BRM.

A night fire exercise is also conducted during which students are introduced to the use of barricades and various light sources (ambient, weapon-mounted and car headlights). This is a high round count exercise on reactive steel targets with shooting done from both the strong and weak sides and the standing and kneeling positions.

The second day of the course includes additional practice on the standards, barricade techniques and the “scrambler”, which is performed in buddy teams with hot weapons.

[jatx]

Key Learnings

These will obviously be different for each individual, so I hope Blake will pitch in with any additions he’d like to make. Having just recently completed BRM training, I was well-prepared for the prone and kneeling standards. I was shooting a 14.5” POF with Eotech and Predator rail and I did note, however, that my performance in these positions was adversely affected by the rail height, which prevents a traditional cheek weld and requires a more heads-up technique. This is something I’ll have to work on. I also noted that my normal kneeling position was not possible with knee pads, which I had not anticipated, so I’ll have to make some adjustments there, as well.

My biggest gains were made at the standing position. While the Army is teaching reflexive fire and controlled pairs to IET soldiers, Paul’s measured approach with emphasis on good first round hits, sight picture and follow-through is largely absent. In addition, Paul teaches the importance of NPA when standing. Most shooters who are struggling to meet a time standard will muscle their weapon instead of letting the sights fall naturally back onto target. I found that speed came naturally when I focused on my sight picture and on staying on my toes in an aggressive posture. Both speed and accuracy deteriorated when I shifted my focus to the target and/or rocked back to a more neutral stance.

The night fire exercise was very useful, particularly the requirement to move from behind cover and back on your weak side at both the standing and kneeling positions. This involved some interesting contortions, but techniques were offered to make both more comfortable. Students were using a mix of LED and incandescent weapon lights with various degrees of success. I was using a Streamlight TLR-2 and found that it had plenty of punch out to 75 yards. Additionally, I found that the targets remained visible to me for longer than with the incandescent lights once the air became thick with smoke. I was also very happy to have the laser available, which was a big help when shooting from the more awkward positions (it also provided visual evidence of how stable a platform I had achieved).

Finally, Paul favors stepping from behind cover with your weapon at the ready, instead of “pieing” the target as I was previously taught during MOUT training. I believe the supporting rationale is that, if you can teach yourself to “see quickly”, this technique helps you maintain the edge due to surprise, whereas “pieing” puts you and your opponent on even footing, especially when weapon lights are being used.

Lastly, the scrambler course provided some useful insights into shooting under stress or physical exertion in real-world conditions. Not all shots are made from a covered, crushed-stone lined firing position. Sometimes you must use a terrain feature for cover, step out of a thicket for a quick shot, shoot down on targets from extreme angles or from the side and transition to your secondary at ranges normally reserved for the rifle. You must do all of this while maintaining constant awareness of your buddy, and while dealing with the flying brass and the report of his weapon. Unlike Blake, I had never even attempted a pistol shot at more than 25 yards, so hitting an 8 inch steel target at 100 yards with a racing heart was a real challenge. I missed more often than not, but the hits sure were rewarding!

All in all, this was a great weekend. I’m now much more confident in my rifle abilities and have a concrete plan for maintaining/improving them in the future. The student to instructor ratio was very low (about 3/1), and I can honestly say that I never stepped back from the firing line without receiving some sort of very specific individual feedback. Paul has a very low-key style without a lot of bluster or swagger, which rubs off on the students, and he made all of us feel like we were his guests for the weekend.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I'll be happy to address them. I'm posting this with Paul's blessing and he will probably stroll through at some point in the discussion. Let's try to keep him around!