Magpul Dynamics Handgun 1 & 2 [2009-06-15]

(Originally written 06-15-09)

On June 13 - 15 (2009), I hosted and attended as a student a Magpul Dynamics 3 day Magpul Dynamics - Dynamic Hangun 1 & 2 (a combination of basic and intermediate handgun).

A brief run down of what was covered on each day of class:

Training Day 1 - Saturday:

-Weapon safety / med brief

-Admin Load and press checks

-High compressed ready dot drills 7 yards

-Draw 5/25 yard line presentation / set time

-Speed reload

-Tactical reload

-Balance Speed Accuracy (BSA) drill 5 yard to 25 yard 2 rounds in 2 seconds from the draw - center of paper bullseye

-Mindset lecture

-Malfunctions and 10 degree cant

-Failure to feed

-Immediate action drills

-Double feeds

-Balance Speed Accuracy (BSA) drill 5 yard to 25 yard 2 rounds in 2 seconds from the draw

Training Day 2 - Sunday:

-25 yard warm up

-Ball and dummy 25 yards

-7 yard 3 inch dot drills number game

-BSA drill 5 yard to 25 yard 2 rounds in 2 seconds from the draw - center of paper bullseye

-Dynamic Kneeling / prone / urban prone

-90 and 180 degree responses ( standing, kneeling, prone ) also done reflexive (off of another movement)

-Off line of attack movement

-Shooting and moving forward / rear v -BSA Drill drill 5 yard to 25 yard 2 rounds in seconds

-50 yard plate drill fastest time with a hit (Eggroll came in first place with a score of 2.59 seconds, I came in second at 2.64 second ... I was robbed )

Training Day 3 - Monday:

-25 yard warm up

-BSA drill 5 yard to 25 yard 2 rounds in 2 seconds from the draw - center of bullseye

-Concealment lecture and demo / concerns with one handed manipulation

-Concealment Dynamic Kneeling / prone / urban prone

-Concealment both knees execution drill

-Concealment Face-down drill

-90/180 degree responses ( standing, kneeling, prone ) also done reflexive (off of another movement)

-Weapon hand / reaction hand only drills 5 yard to 15 yards

-Holding a kid or controlling others drills

-Instructor demo weapon hand and reaction hand only tap rack bang / double feeds and how to clear them with one hand

-Moving and barricading others drill

-Moving and barricading others drill and partner react drills

-Shooting and moving forward and rear with continuous fire drill

-Shooting and moving forward and rear with continuous fire drill (reflexive)

-Barricades - standing, Kneeling, urban prone and vehicle drill

-Low light / no light discussion and practical application drills using lights

-Final de-brief and certificates

Due to an extremely hectic schedule, I have to keep this AAR short.

I missed half of Training Day 1 due to some behind the scenes hosting and range issues. It took longer than expected to get admin issues squared away. I didn‘t get back until around lunch, I figured it wasn't worth jumping in at that point. So I sat out the rest of Training Day 1 and jumped in at the beginning of Training Day 2. As the host, you have to wear many hats, and sometimes you have to take one for the team so the class is not effected.

Weather was cooler than normal for mid-June, which was nice. We got some light rain in during the afternoon of training day one and we were blessed with intermittent cloud cover during all 3 days of the class.

We had a total of 19 students including the host. The class was full in February, but we had some students back out at the last minute due to work, deployments, etc.

As is normal in most training classes I've attended, we had a wide variety of skill sets in the class (from beginner to advanced). Several students had been to other classes, but for several students this was their first class. The training started off on a very basic level and in a short period of time the entire class was moving along at a steady and progressive pace. None of the students had any major issues. It was nice to see how quickly the newer students were learning and applying the material that was being taught.

This class was one of the best training classes I have attended. Travis Haley, Chris Costa, and Drake Clark are outstanding instructors. I have never seen two instructors that complement each other like Travis and Chris.

In the Magpul Dynamics class there was a lot of shooting from unconventional positions, shooting around barricades, shooting around vehicles, shooting while on the move, shooting in close proximity to other people, moving from one location to another, reacting to another person, problem solving, gear considerations, reacting in a real world environment (ie. child in your hands, active shooter considerations, etc), mindset, etc.

The dictionary defines Dynamic as:

dy-namic (di nam'ik)

adjective

1. relating to an object, or objects, in motion

2. energetic; vigorous; forceful

3. relating to or tending toward change or productive activity

The class was definitely "dynamic".

This class was an outstanding balance between speed and accuracy, mindset, problem solving, shooting from unconventional positions, drawing from concealment, etc. For me and the way in which I employ the handgun it was an awesome class, I learned a lot.

I was extremely impressed with the class, and will be training again with Magpul Dynamics in the near future.

I would like to thank the following companies for their continued support of these training courses:

Slip 2000

Magpul

Instructor Drake Clark demo's a drill for a student