Gunfighter

wag · Joined: 20 Sep 2007 Posts: 3

It was a great two days at the Tobin Ranch range in Victoria, Texas. We met at the Hotel at 8 am. After a short drive to the range we wasted no time in loading up. This range has 15 ft high bearms with very nice covered pavilions in two separate sections that will hold 15 or so shooters each. There is another bearm for longer distance shooting, which will be discussed later.

Our Instructor was Brian Hoffner. For those who do not know him, he has been involved in tactical shooting instruction as long as some on this list are old. He teaches many law enforcement agencies, contractors, and civilians. For more background, visit http://www.hoffners.com/about.htm. Brian is a very interesting and motivational speaker who quickly brings you into his mindset.

First was a very detailed safety briefing. This is a must. Although this was not a beginning class you can't emphasize safety too much. Hoffner is a very safe instructor. There are some similaritites to James Yeager, but he is easier to approach and I would recommend him for women and even older teens.

Our first series of drills were basic, making sure everyone came up to speed together. First we went to prone position to check sights, then we started drilling them. We took different positions but were always safe and aware of our surroundings. After lunch we started our moving shooter drills and of course Brian ties all his drills into real life scenarios. You must learn to shoot while aggressing and degressing as well as doing lateral movement. It's not as easy as "stop, sight and shoot." You learn to shoot while on the go (probably moving to cover) and you must scan, scan, and scan because there are hidden adversaries lurking in the background giving shot clues. This is one weakness I have: not scanning enough for threats.

Dinner was at 5pm. I was glad to have the break. We had worked hard all day and were greeted by a catered BBQ by the Tobin’s at the range. We really had a short dinner - maybe 30 minutes, but that was good. Had it been any longer I would have dozed off. The next segment was low light, and then no light

Man, does your ability to acquire a target diminish at dusk. We practiced at several intervals of diminishing light to see how your target changes and how you rethink your shot. NOW for the really kick butt fun. We were marched in single file off into the dark abyss, only to be told to lay out prone and get into ready mode. We were about 100 yards, maybe 75 out from three steel targets, which looked very small and distant at night. We went through several drills, each having a chance to score a pling and sparks. My AK was new and I did not get it sighted in before class; however, once I corrected my offset I got hits, and plenty of them. One of the last drills we did was to basically unload our magaziness all at once. There were sparks going everywhere and a lot of clanging going on.

How does it get any better? Well, wake up to an Ihop breakfast with your fellow Warriors and then head out to Tobin’s ranch for some more shoot 'em up. Now in came the bad guy. How do you practice for bad guy scenarios unless your adversary is moving, which is exactly what will happen in real life. At first we drilled on moving targets, leaving our sights on fixed target points. This was to replicate a BG moving behind cover and coming into view, such as an open window or doorway. Speeds increased and so did abrupt changes in direction. Our final drills for the day were moving shooter, moving target. Our objective was to cut him off at the pass, to intercept using angles and speed, to aggress and degress while using lateral movement...stay in the fight using all your tools to win the battle!!
_________________
Worlds best Coffee
www.hopsoncoffee.com
Guard dog "Ginger"
Razor WIre
8 Motion cameras

Hoff · Joined: 28 Jun 2007 Posts: 506 Location: Warrior Nirvana

Thanks for the debrief Wag. It was a great class with a great crew of shooters with alot more to come. It's only going to get better and better.
Hoff