High Exposure

I think this is a class anyone that shoots a carbine - for games or for real - could take regardless of skill level, be it brand new or advanced. The lesson plan covered a lot of info and was somewhat akin to drinking water frm a fire hose, but if you approached it like you would eating an elephant, one bite at a time, it was very doable. Just set your brain to receive and don't overdrive your headlights, regardless of how fast the other shooters are competing their tasks. If you are concerned you may be biting off more than you can chew, I think he also a offers a "Basic" Carbine class as well as his level I & II, where he goes over some of the more simple and common tasks - administrative manipulations, reloading, sights and trigger controls more in depth and with more repetitions.

OP: if you are interested, I just posted my AAR from the class I just took with S&T: http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php/topic/61042-aar-st-carbine-i-bethlehem-pa-sept-14-2013/ Give you an idea of what their courses are like.

If anyone is interested, here's a link to my AAR: http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php/topic/61042-aar-st-carbine-i-bethlehem-pa-sept-14-2013/ I didn't want to clutter up this thread with it.

After Action Report Class: Sights and Triggers Training - Carbine I Inst: Joe Riedy Location: Steel City Range, Bethlehem PA Date: Saturday Sept 14, 2013 09:00-17:15 Weather: Cool and mostly cloudy with a nice breeze Round count: ~250 .223/5.56 and ~30 pistol I was looking for a local course to work on my carbine skills a bit and am a bit of a self-professed "Training Snob". As a firearms instructor myself, for both my agency and a regional SWAT team, I expect a lot from any course I take. In reality as the head firearms instructor, I don't get to shoot all that often - other then the occasional drill demo - as I spend most of my time holding a whistle or a timer instead of a gun while on the line. Therefore I am very picky about who gets my training money as that's my time to learn and sharpen my abilities. I also look not only for training for myself, but new and intesting drills and skills I can take back to my people to keep them interested and engaged in training. I had contacted a few other local trainers (NY, NJ, Eastern PA) over the last couple of years but I didn't like what I was hearing from them so I wrote them off. I had not heard of Joe Riedy or "Sights and Trigger Training" prior to a member here bringing them up in this thread: http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php/topic/58685-local-carbine-training/ - (Thanks Acaixguard!). Joe was local, the round count looked doable (fit my training allotment for rounds for the year) and the price was right, so I started digging a bit and I found nothing but good reviews. He is a fellow Cop and with his training resume I felt safe to assume the training would be oriented to "fighting with a gun" and not simply "shooting" - which is the first thing I look for in a class. I also contacted a friend in the industry that told me he he was good to go. So I wrangled up 2 friends that like to train (one of my fellow Firearms instructor on my SWAT team and one of our Medics - secret of the universe #2264: Whenever possible, attend training with your own Medic ), sent Joe an email to register, mailed him a check, and loaded some mags in anticipation. We arrived at the range after about an hour and 20 minutes on the road. The range was a nice and flat, soft, grassy, field about 100yrds long and relatively easy to find. Life was good. We started gearing up and Joe called us in for a safety brief. Now, a safety brief will tell you a lot about an instructor and will let you know right away if he is worth the title "instructor". Is he just going through the motions, or does he understand the actual principals of firearms safety as it relates to tactical training, not just regurgitating Cooper's 4 rules? Does he actually know the difference between unsafe and dangerous? Joe's brief was thorough and well thought out, covering much more than just the 4 cardinal rules. He discussed the "whys" and the "hows" of the system with logic and depth while keeping it funny so everyone paid attention. He then went over some basic zeroing information regarding ballistics that was quick yet concise and got everyone thinking about their choice of zero and why they chose it. Then it was time to jock up and start shooting. Gear: I ran my SWAT PC and 1st line with no helmet, for the whole class. I used Peltor ComTac Hearing Pro and Oakley Ballistic 2.0 eyepro. I shot my issued Colt R0933 with Aimpoint T1 the whole day along with my personal Glock 35 with Ameriglo Spartan sights. Everything worked with boring regularity. I used standard Glock magazines and about a dozen PMags.I had one pistol malfunction that I was able to track back to a faulty mag which received hammer therapy when I returned home. In case of a catastrophic malfunction with either weapon I had a spare rifle (BCM EAG HS) set up identically to my duty gun and a second G35 in the truck. Training: Joe settled everyone into the prone at 50yards and ran a zeroing exercise. We shot this 3 times so everyone could get a good starting zero. Once everyone was satisfied we moved in and covered the initial "make ready" procedures, mechanical offset, reloads, shooting from high and low ready positions, trigger control, and everyone's favorite - clearing malfunctions, type I, III, & III - before breaking for lunch. I don't want to go into each POI in detail, as you should really attend one of Joe's classes and have him teach you in person instead of reading about it online, but I wanted to touch on this. He taught the clearing of a type III malfunction (double feed) a little differently than I have seen it done before. I liked Joe's way as it was simpler and faster then the way I was initially taught and do it now. I am going to keep playing with this technique and if it continues to work I am going to bring it back to my Team and incorporate it into my own tool box. Lunch was low-key. Most of us brought our lunch with us as the range is a bit off the beaten path and going out would have wasted some time. It was also a chance to stage our gear for the second half of the day and hangout with the shooters other a bit. It is refreshing to hang out with like minded people and swap war stories, techniques, and ideas. You can learn a lot from the other shooters in a quality class. After lunch it was transitions from a non-working big gun to the blaster. Then shooting on the move - forward, reverse, diagonal, and perpendicular to the targets as well as the engaging of targets to the strong side, support side, and the rear. We then went to alternate shooting positions, like reverse kneeling and junkyard prone, while shooting groups to see what happens to your zero when you are not holding your rifle perfectly vertical in order to better use available cover. Again I want to touch on one drill we did while working on shooting on the move. It was something I had never done before and was a real "Lightbulb Moment" for me. Joe first had us work shooting on the move without actually "moving" our position on the line at all. First, by purposefully moving our muzzle in a circle or a figure 8 and firing on command, then by lifting one leg then the other in a simulated "slow motion hurdle" while firing 1 or 2 rounds on command. These exercises let you see that even though the dot is moving, and you are off balance and swaying, that you can still get good hits by using the fundamentals - sights, trigger, and follow through. Outstanding! We ended the day with a series of excellent drills - some on the timer letting it all hang out there in front of your classmates. Everyone was supportive and the good-natured joke monster started rearing its ugly head. It was fun, but most importantly it added stress when you were up there all alone with all eyes on you. I thought this was great and was the best part of the day. After drills we received our certificates, had a quick brief back and called it a day. Joe is a great instructor. He has lived the life and speaks from experience, giving a lot more credence to his methods than most local instructors in my eyes. Where a lot of instructors are just regurgitating what they heard from those that have been there and done that, Joe's opinions are formed from personal experience, and what has worked and not worked in the real world, not just a flat range. If you had a way to do something that was different from his POI and you could explain why in a rational manner that made sense he didn't try to "fix" you. He asked that you try it his way for the class, and if you liked it then keep it, if not forget it. If what you were dong was counter to what works in the real world in his experience he explained that as well, ultimately leaving it up to you to decide. As always, the students go a long way to making a class work. This one was no different. The class was a mix of Cops, CCW carriers, and a couple of Competition types. It was cool to watch how folks from different backgrounds approached each drill with their focus being slightly different. I got a lot from watching the Comp shooters do their thing. They would game the drills a bit and their skills were wired tight. Their movements were very efficient and deliberate, and while they looked like they were in slow motion, they posted excellent times. By the end everyone was teasing and encouraging each other, and offering advice and criticism. Throughout the class Joe covered a variety of topics relating to the rifle and it's uses. He covered gear/equipment selection and setup, ballistics, TTPs, and related it all back to the use of a firearm in a defensive, or sometimes offensive posture in the real world. He never missed an opportunity for someone's mess up to be a teaching point for the class and he did it in a way that didn't call the student out, but let everyone learn. He used the timer in a manner that let you know where you stood, but didn't belittle anyone. He gave you standards to meet, then explained how those time standards were initially developed and by whom. He touched on how they are used to measure progress relating to the levels of achievement and how we could use them to improve in practice. He was funny, but not a clown, and made everyone feel comfortable, in turn, making the class enjoyable. He was able to convey some fairly complex ideas without breaking a sweat and without making you feel like he just beat you over the head with a hammer. We didn't kill the drills with rounds. Joe would explain a drill and the theory behind it, explain how it relates to the skill of fighting with a gun and why he prefers to do it that way, give a quick demo and then we would run it two or three times. This let us pick up a skill and learn a drill to work on it that we could bring back and practice on our own. To me, in this time of high ammo costs and low ammo availability this is value added. Takeaways: - Practice isn't training. - You can't miss fast enough to win. To Improve: - Shooting on the move. Always my weakest point. - Reloads. They were OK but I recently moved my emergency reload pouch after a having it in the same place for a number of years. Procedural memory bit me here and slowed me down a bit. I need to work those movements dry with the new pouch. - Offset. Gotta remember mechanical offset better. - Pistol shots at 50 yards. I have been neglecting my pistol skills for a while in favor of taking carbine courses. I need to fix that. To maintain: - My transitions were good. I was pleased with my time and my hits. - Clearing malfunctions. My way works. It just takes second or two longer. I need to maintain this as I experiment with the new sequence Joe taught. - Mindset was good. I tweaked my knee early in the day and it stiffened up and got pretty painful. I was able to continue the class and do ok despite the distraction. I highly recommend Sights and Trigger (http://www.sightsandtrigger.com/) for a very cost effective and most excellent local training opportunity. I am also planning on attending another S&T class with Joe in the very near future.

Bastards!!

pew pew pew 'Murica

Oh sure, don't invite me shooting on Friday with you and Checko, but ask me to do this. I see how it is I am assuming the $150 like Saturdays class was. I am going to email Joe tomorrow and find out. I will let you know.

Watch your Butt lol

Wow, I can't believe they are still making these. They were the first RDS used operationally and were used by members of the Army SF during Operation Ivory Coast in 1970. If you want to have an authentic"ish" early AR and have a RDS get one of these. They are made for fixed carry handles: http://www.armsonusa.com/armsonoegm16.html

I just took a carbine class with Joe Reidy at S&T. I highly recomend him. I have taken classes from EAG, VTAC, H&K, Trident, Blackwater, Blackrock, Spartan Tactical, Invictus, along with some real crappy classes, and I rank Joe up there with the top guys. Affordable, close, reasonable round count, and just good personable instructor. He gives a "why" as well as a "how" and touches on all aspects of shooting - mindset, equipment, gear setup, methods - not just pulling a trigger. He also gives drills to take home and practice that have a time and accuracy standard to strive for, so you can continue to develop your skills. He has a basic pistol class coming up in October in Bethlehem PA, just over the border. I am seriously thinking of attending myself, I have been concentrating way too much on my rifle and not nearly enough on my pistol skills. http://www.sightsandtrigger.com/Home.html October 26, VSM Basic Pistol, Steel City Gun Club, Bethlehem PA

You wait until HK releases their striker fired pistol you will change your tune buster

Oh, and I tried to take some comparison photos... I am NOT a photographer, they all came out like sh!t and were of no value. You would be better off seeing the different frame sizes in person or going to the Glock website and comparing the measurements you want. Sorry.

You are welcome to shoot my 35, both of them, but they are .40s not 9mm. That will come with training and practice no matter what gun you pick. I had to shoot a Glock in the academy. A G23. I hated it. It felt clunky, blocky and uncomfortable, i made it work and passed woth 100%. When I got hired we had the S&W 4013TSW I mentioned earlier. I didn't think there was a worse gun than the Glock. Then I shot that thing and realized there was. I shot it a lot and went through firearms instructor school with it, I scored 100% there too. I went out and bought a HK P2000 to carry off duty, it was beautiful and it fit my hand like a glove. By far the most comfortable gun I have ever held in my hand. I couldn't shoot that gun for anything. I tried and tried and finally i got it to run for me, but it was a constant battle to keep up. Finally I tried Karl's (Master Blaster from class) G35. In an hour I was shooting the best groups I have ever had. We went the next week to Lawmen Supply and I bought myself a G35 of my own. Now I have 2 of them and am thinking about getting another (Gen 3 in FDE) along with a G24. I have since sold my HK, along with all of the other non Glock service size guns I have bought to try out over the years - M&P 45, Sig 226, 1911, XD.

I have shot the P99. I shot it a lot actually, we were looking at it as a choice (along with HK USP .40, M&P .40, Sig 229/226 in .40) when ditching our 3rd gen S&W 4014TSWs. The Glock was superior in every way for myself and all the testers that shot it. It came in dead last on everyone's list. The Glock 22 was subjectively softer recoiling, exhibited significantly less muzzle flip, fit my hand better, had a "standard" manual of arms and control locations, and was generally more fun to shoot. It also ran better with our duty ammo, was easier to work on and fix, the Armorers class was significantly less involved than any of the other guns and had more aftermarket support options options available - holsters, pouches, sights, etc... The G35 is all those things the G22 is, but better. I have no experience with the PPQ but hear really great things about it, just haven't had the opportunity to get my dirty little hands on one. Don't get wrapped around the axle on size, with the right choices you can CCW any gun comfortably. Get wrapped up about what you can shoot better. Think, if I was going to get in a gun fight in an hour and could pick any handgun I could legally own to defend myself with, what would I pick? Then carry that gun everyday/whenever you can. All that being said, if you don't like the G34 then I would pick the G19 as a second choice.

Then isn't putting an optic on it at all counter to the familiar old school feeling you are seeking? Or did you have a scope mounted in the '80s when you were in? Based on your above statements I say leave it with Irons and call it done.

New thread here: http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php/topic/61015-white-house-shots-fired/ Posts most likely moved by admin to keep topics seperate.

That should be fine. Again, just check with the FFL that you want to use before you have it shipped so it doesn't get refused. If they won't accept it, shop around for one that will.

Correct, AR15 is a no go. M4/M16 is OK though according to the NJSP ballistics unit. Weird... The real question is can AR15 be "in" another string of characters, ie: SLAR150 or SCAR15 (made up model numbers as an example) that I can't get a straight answer on. The other part is going to an FFL that understands that too. I know some won't accept BCM4 because it has "M4" in it.

First of all it is Marines and Navy. Second, the Marines in DC with the equipment or training to handle this already have jobs to do. They can't leave their post to handle something else without being relieved. That takes time.

It is designed to be used with hard armor - either stand alone (SA) plates or in-conjunction-with (ICW) plate with soft armor backers. DO NOT RUN ICW PLATES WITHOUT SOFT ARMOR BEHIND IT. I really like te MSA plates and the stuff Velocity Systems is putting out is pretty nice. Let me dig through some of my notes from our last BA procurement and I will post what I can.

So you are keeping it stock or you are open to a new upper?

Most military bases have neither the trained manpower or the equipment on-hand to handle an immediate threat - key word being "immediate". Most bases hire DOD "Cops" and private security firms to be "guards" and have no training to do this job. Most of the Marines trained for this mission are overseas and the ones who are here have their gear locked up in 7 different locations and need forms completed in triplicate before the meat-eaters can even see them in their dreams. You want to wait for the USMC to get there - it's gonna be awhile. Besides, if they did you would be the first to grab the tinfoil helmet and be all up in arms about Posse Comitatus.

Midlength gas system? Details Man! Details!

What's the length on those? 14.5", 16", & 18"? What's the skinny on the shorter barrel with the long rail?

Spend $100 bucks a buy a stripped flat top upper receiver and swap everything over. http://www.bravocompanyusa.com/Upper-Receiver-Assembly-M4-Flat-Top-demo-p/flat%20top%20-upper%20-m4%20demo. There are no viable mounting options for a fixed carry handle upper when compared to a flat top. If you are married to your upper receiver, stay with irons.