Well, there being no other Magpul Dynamics civilian shotgun classes in 2011, we decided to offer these in our training regimen this year. Besides, shooters get to say they shot were the Art of the Dynamic Shotgun DVD was filmed—true interwebs street cred!
Training Day 1
Since everyone showed up on time, all administrative niceties went like clockwork. We formally welcomed everyone to the facility, went over a few ground rules, and made the formal introduction of Chris Costa and Steve Fisher. After covering the safety brief and procedures for any critical situations (adding holes not given at birth); students were pushed right to the firing line. Being that this was designated as HANDGUN 2, Chris and Steve did not waste any time having these guys work up a sweat.
Every walk of life was in this class, LEO, MIL, EMT’s, CEO’s, bankers, engineers, college students, industry representatives, and your occasional tree hugger (literally). <3 big guy!
Being that this is the 6-7-8th-- I lost count --course that we have hosted for Magpul, I have noticed that the core curriculum does stay consistent, BUT the pace and drills is solely dependent upon the skill level of the class as a whole. The less experienced are pushed to their individual failure points right along with the certified ninjas. Everyone gets their recommended daily allowance of FAIL!
Even though this is a Handgun 2 course, the fundamentals covered in Handgun 1 were given due diligence to get everyone on the same sheet of music before Chris and Steve upped the tempo from a smooth instructor lead Macarena to some heart pounding, adrenaline pumping, hippity hoppity house music. All that was missing were the glow sticks. For some this was their 2nd time attending HANDGUN 2 just for that reason—reinforcing the fundamentals.
Training Day 2
The final day of handgun before we break out the big sticks. Unlike the December 2010 class, a lot more one-handed manipulation was conducted rather than shooting and moving. Why? As I said before, my personal observation was that Magpul Dynamics keeps the core instruction the same but does alter agendas based on the needs and skill sets of the class as a whole. This class was not a gumbo of LEO, MIL, and 3 Gunners. There were armed civilians and those who do not carry a gun for a living-not that it really makes a difference, but…. Regardless, one-handed manipulation is an important skill set, and since most were not going to be bangin tangos in Afghanistan or serving warrants as part of a team—the curriculum matched that. Less team and movement, more “Oh ****!” in your living room at O’dark thirty.
Most of this day was spent on one handed manipulation-everything from off handed draw and presentation, to reloading. I have to give props to the shooter below. He shot the entire class from concealment—true keeping it real!
Training Day 3
I love sound of gunfire in the morning! Boys and girls, it was sticky humid on this May morning going into TD3. In south LA, we like to say, “it is not the heat, it is the humidity.” Screw that, it was the heat AND the humidity. Anyway, we confirmed good zeros for those that arrived squared away, and got everyone else up to speed in short order. Once zeros were taken care of on the guns, we went right into the drills. Chris and Steve absolutely love shotguns, maybe more so than carbine if you can believe that. Shotguns are just fun to shoot! Benelli M1s and Remington 870s simple took charge of the field. There were so many hulls on the ground I tried to get someone to make “hull angels” (think snow angels), but that was outside of everyone but Chris’ comfort zone.
But wait... Your flooded down there right? YEP!
With food that is...
With as many iCommandoes as there are on the inter-webs, some see guys like Chris Costa, Steve Fisher, Larry Vickers, Gecko45, and Kyle Lamb as”tactical idols”, and thusly think they are as approachable as Miley Cyrus at Chucky Cheese on her birthday when your driving a panel van with free-candy written on the side—nothing could be further from the truth. While some may like to use them as their favorite character in Call of Duty: Black Ops, the simple fact is that they are normal guys (Ok, Chris is certainly abnormal, and Steve is one or two shades off from typical) who like to pass their knowledge onto those who want to learn. One of the things that make our NOLATAC hosted classes unique is the sense of camaraderie and general brotherhood that quickly develops among the staff, students, and instructors. People have a good time, and that fosters learning and fun. A lot of this is accomplished via the time-honored tradition of breaking bread among family and friends—sharing a good meal.
The fact that the food is simply scrumpulicious helps also.
We had reservations on the first night at Trey Yuen Cuisine of China, in Hammond, Louisiana. The family style 5-course meal was busting at the seams even with 30 persons. Trey Yuen has become kind of a hallmark of our classes and the family atmosphere of these dinners is something everyone seems to look forward to. You would think after the enormous lunch that no one was hungry, but the reality is that they had burned that lunch off, because Warden Steve Fisher was working the firing line like a southern chain gang. After a full serving of some fresh food, these guys retired to the comfortable beds at the Hampton Inn.
Second night in, we had booked the newly renovated rail car at Cate Street Seafood Company—another one of our go-to fine dining establishments that leave those new to our classes waddling out the door. Fresh seafood, sushi, and marbled steaks littered the tables as these guys were gorging over another south Louisiana feast. The topics of conversation varied, but the cycle of events for the day remained the same-- Shoot, Eat, Shoot, Eat, and Sleep; Rinse and repeat tomorrow.
SWAG
While we always try to connect the dots between great gear and end users at our classes, handgun classes are so hard due to all the custom and non-standard parts across the board with weapons, lights, etc. However we have some great industry partners who share our passion and mission and stepped up to the plate
Each student got a swag bag with MPRO-7 Cleaner and LPX Lube, Sentry Solutions Tuff Cloth, stickers and patches from Magpul Dynamics, 2011 Magpul calendar, Nolatac carabineer, and pen. For those operating Glock pistols they also received some Glock Magpuls.
In addition to the swag bag, we also conducted a raffle where each student received a raffle ticket and items were selected from the table.
Revision Eyewear – Viper Tails
BlackHawk – Shotgun Case, Battle Bag, Omega Pistol Case, Hawk Knives, and Mini Medical Pouch
MPro-7 – Tactical Cleaning Kit, Soft Side Cleaning Kit, Travel Kit, and 12 gauge Bore Snakes
Sentry Solutions – Gear Care Kit
USAammo – 250 rounds of any ammunition they produce
Raven Concealment – 50.00 off purchase Gift Certificates
Obviously we would like to thank all of our industry partners who go above and beyond to support NOLATAC, as well as the shooting community as a whole. These generous donations not only help our shooters in cash strapped times, but they also introduce shooters to products they may not be familiar with.
CONCLUSION
No matter how many of these AAR’s we write, there is sometimes still a tad of doubt in people’s minds... “Hey those guys are fan boys, weekend warriors who got a free seat. Of course they are going to say the class was great.” When it comes to firearms training, you should fill that single sheet resume with a set of skills that you have mastered to the best of your ability. Now, I wouldn’t go to Steve Fisher or Chris Costa to learn the intricacies of open heart surgery or the finer points of scrapbooking, but when it comes to putting combat effective hits on your intended target, Chris and Steve are two guys I am glad are batting for the home team. So, to make this AAR a bit more personable I requested students submit a brief statement from their individual perspective. It gets kind of hard for me to convey the different nuances between the classes after 6 or 8 of them, but for those who were here for the first or second time, the experience proved to be worthwhile. Given the fact that over 50% of our students are repeat customers, some by as many as three or four classes, obviously Magpul Dynamics and NOLATAC are doing something right…or maybe it is just the food?
A mini-AAR from Trevor Johnson:
