Tag: training

I first met Caylen Wojcik at the 2013 Sniper Adventure Challenge, where he and his (shooting, not domestic) partner Jon Canipe displayed shooting skills far in excess of the entire field of competitors. For example, of the 26 teams in the competition, only 7 scored a rifle hit on the first shooting stage. Two teams had one hit, four teams (including Paul and I) had two hits, and one team (Ares Armor, I believe) had four hits. Caylen scored seven hits out of ten possible. So he can definitely shoot,… Read More

Now that we have two training courses under our belt, Jim and I have made some further adjustments to the Vuurwapen Concepts course curriculum. The second course incorporated some pistol shooting, and all subsequent courses will expand on that. Most notably, however, we're moving to a three-day course format (with an optional fourth day at the beginning for refreshing fundamentals). This will allow for additional training and evaluation time over the two-day format, although the course fee remains relatively low at $450. We've scheduled courses for October 11-13 and November… Read More

I wear flip flops almost every day and have done so for nearly my entire life. Therefore, I wear flip flops while shooting. This seems to upset some people when I post photos or videos online, so I'll take a moment to explain further. Train How You Fight I have said this a few times lately, but it really is important to "train how you fight." A long time ago, I was working on the "Lifesaving" merit badge. I had the fastest rescue time in part due to my ability… Read More

Last weekend was the first of what will hopefully be many firearm training courses taught by myself and Jim Staley of Deliberate Dynamics. Writing about it wholly from my perspective would be a bit self-serving, so I'll share some photos/video and the feedback I solicited from the 14 students who attended the course. If you're interested in attending our next course, scheduled for July 27/28, you may sign up here. I asked for their honest opinions, and will summarize/compile them here in the interests of brevity. If any students wish… Read More

For those who couldn't make the May 25/26 AR15 course taught by myself and Jim Staley of Deliberate Dynamics, we have two more classes scheduled: one on June 22/23, and one on July 27/28. The May class is full. If you'd like to sign up, you may do so here.

I was recently sent a photo of some civilian carbine/vehicle training. Some of the things I saw in the photo bothered me, and I'd like to discuss why. First, I should probably cover my background, as in the past not doing so has led some people to assume that I did not have relevant experience, although the "about me" link above has the relevant information. I was an FMF Corpsman (8404) and deployed to Anbar province for essentially all of 2006. I have treated injuries ranging from those caused by… Read More

As mentioned previously, I will be co-teaching an AR-15 course in Utah over Memorial Day Weekend. It will be held on Saturday and Sunday, May 25/26. Here's some info for those who may be interested in the course: It'd be best to fly in to Salt Lake City on Friday evening, we should be able to pick everyone up from the airport. The range location is about 15 miles north of Tremonton, Utah. It's pretty remote and the whole range is approximately 55,000 acres. This will let us do a… Read More

Next month - over Memorial Day Weekend, May 25/26 - I will be teaching a class which will largely relate to the AR-15 platform. I've been thinking about doing this for a while, and a fantastic opportunity has presented itself. Sniper Country in northern Utah offers a phenomenal environment for shooting - with a known-distance range out to 1800 yards - as well as a lodge which students may stay in as well as use for classroom portions. The course has been designed to fill gaps left by other training… Read More

I have met a number of instructors in the, for lack of a better term, "tactical" world. I have the benefits of being a constant shooter and several years' experience teaching in classroom settings to form opinions of instruction and training for real-world firearms use. And I have had the opportunity to discuss the effectiveness of various instructional techniques with professional military and law enforcement individuals who were willing to speak frankly and did not hold anything back in their assessments. All of this has led me to the conclusion… Read More

I shoot a lot - probably too much at times. This shooting includes various disciplines, from smallbore rifle shooting to service pistol and carbine training to hunting - mostly unicorns and kittens. My first exposure to high volume training was under the guidance of a USMC SNCO who had just come from SOTG. For those who were lost at USMC, this means that my platoon leader was an experienced sergeant - not a commissioned officer - who had recently been an instructor at the Marine Corps' Special Operations Training Group,… Read More