[jatx]

Background

Since attending Paul Howe's course at CSAT in February, I have continued to work on my carbine fundamentals. On average, I'm shooting about 1,000 rds per month, divided into two half-day training sessions during which I drill on Paul's standards, plus 30 minutes of dry fire once per week. My progress on those standards has been satisfactory. For example, Paul's failure drill at 7 yds calls for 5 rds center mass and 1 rd to the head in under 3 seconds. I am now averaging 2.1-2.2 seconds on a pretty consistent basis while maintaining accuracy.

As a result, I recently began looking for a follow-on course that would help me develop incrementally, adhere to the same basic philosophy regarding stance, etc., and provide a higher-pressure training environment. I found all of these things and more in Jeff Gonzales's Combative Carbine 1/Shooting on the Move Carbine course held over three days last weekend in Corsicana, TX.

Facilities

Our class was hosted by Predator Ranch, a new facility 1 hour southeast of Dallas that is operated by a former classmate from CSAT. Facilities included a very nice classroom building with whiteboards, plasma TVs, kitchen, etc., plus a 100 yard flat range with a high berm on three sides. There was also a large, covered equipment staging and weapons cleaning area located near the range. Additional ranges and facilities are planned and should be an excellent resource for those of us in North Texas.

Conditions during the course were challenging. Temperatures were in the mid-90's with high humidity and intermittent thunderstorms. Given the pace of training, remaining hydrated was a real challenge for most students.

Overall Orientation

Jeff Gonzales draws on his years of experience with SEAL Team 4 to instruct students in the effective use of the carbine during close combat. All shooting is conducted at ranges of 50 yds or less. Jeff deliberately stresses shooters with aggressive time and accuracy standards, by constantly switching between a seemingly endless variety of drills, and by demanding laser-like focus on the firing line for about 10 hours per day with minimal breaks for reloading and rest.

Added to this mix is Jeff's status as a superb teacher. He is extremely personable and down to earth, has a great pedagogical sense, and a nearly photographic memory. Strolling the firing line during a drill, he has the talent to watch 12 students simultaneously and provide meaningful, actionable feedback to each shooter afterwards. Although he was alone as instructor of this course, I probably received more personalized attention than I did at CSAT, where the student/teacher ratio was more like 2:1. That is really saying something.

This particular weekend was divided into two parts. First, CC1 focused for two days on the basics of combat marksmanship, as well as Jeff's personal philosophy regarding basics such as fighting stance and weapon manipulation. Second, SMC offered an introduction to the controversial topic of shooting while moving.