Defensive Edge Carbine I/II Course 2005
/1*\ - CY6 - M.O.S.S.
OVERVIEW
Defensive Edge Training & Consulting, based in Minnesota, bills itself as "the
premiere training agency in the Midwest". DETC provides instruction in defensive shooting (handgun, shotgun and carbine) to both
armed citizens and law enforcement, but also provides specialized courses, including Minnesota CCW, SWAT entry training, precision rifle, various instructor-level classes, and
armorer certifications on a number of weapon systems. I attended DETC's Carbine I/II course at the Racine County Line Rifle Club in Racine, WI, after hearing about it
on AR15.com.
The course was taught by Greg "Sully" Sullivan, DETC's founder and primary instructor. In addition to his work with DETC, Sully is also a full-time police officer, serves as an instructor at a Minnesota SWAT training facility, and is the creator of the "Sully Stock," a shortened and ergonomically improved fixed stock for the AR-15/M-16 weapon system. Although Sully had been a fellow student at the Pat Rogers carbine course I attended in 2004, and I had recently completed DETC's AR-15/M-16 Armorers Course, this would be my first opportunity to experience Sully as a bona-fide firearms instructor.
THE STUDENTS
Attending the class were 24 students (20 male, 4 female) running the gamut of professions, ages and experience levels. Most students were ARFcom members, so it was nice to put faces with screen names.
Several indicated they'd had no previous formal carbine instruction. In total, this was probably the most diverse group of students in
any firearms course I've previously taken or taught. Because of that, and because of the class size, I figured things would move pretty slowly. I would be proven VERY wrong!
THE HARDWARE
Though the class is billed generically as a carbine course, it was clearly written with the AR platform in mind. Which is just as
well, since nearly everyone brought one! Carbines ranged from a 11" NFA weapon (registered short-barreled rifle) to a bone-stock 20" A2 type, with all stops in-between. Many of the carbines had red-dot optics (Aimpoint, Tacpoint, EOTech or generic Tasco/BSA types), though there were also
a couple of low-power scopes as well. A smaller number of students elected to run only iron sights, which is also Sully's preference. The most popular varieties of slings, grips, rail systems and aftermarket stocks were also well-represented.
I shot the course with my newly rebuilt M4A1 clone (16" 1x7 barrel, Samson MRFS-C freefloat rail system, CMT flat-top upper, Aimpoint COMP-ML2, Surefire light and VLTOR stock), with my "plain jane" M4 as a backup (didn't need it).
Personal gear was the same setup I used in Pat's class – carbine mags carried in my Spectergear chest rig, empties tossed into a Maxpedition dump pouch worn on the belt just behind my pistol mag pouches. My Glock 23 again rode in my excellent RM Holsters ECP kydex paddle.
I had no problems with guns or gear during the entire weekend, save for a bad magazine which was quickly identified and discarded for later rebuilding.
DAY ONE
We began the class with the obligatory paperwork (waivers and medical info), followed by a synopsis of DETC's history, Sully's qualifications and background, and student introductions. We then went into a basic
field-strip/cleaning/maintenance routine for the AR-15/M-16 (our lone FAL shooter had to wing it). Sully explained that properly inspecting, cleaning and lubing weapons beforehand cuts down on the number of
malfunctions and failures during class. Although I had learned these procedures as part of the DETC armorer's course just a few months ago, I used the opportunity to inspect and clean my M4 carbine – and
discovered a sheared gas ring in the process! Fortunately, Sully was able to provide a replacement and I was good to go.
With the maintenance issues covered, we moved immediately into live fire, addressing the basic carbine fighting stance. We partnered up into two relays, with each non-shooting student watching over his partner on the line, to catch any safety violations, remove annoying hot brass, and provide a peer critique. This rather novel approach kept students interested and involved when they weren't shooting, minimized downtime, and helped a single instructor to effectively manage a large number of shooters.
Sully had us fire from the classic US Army stance first – bladed to the target, shooting arm parallel to the ground, with the stock in the shoulder pocket. This worked well enough to begin with, but groups got worse when we were put off-balance by taking a
step forward, and really got messy when we were denied the use of our support arm! We then fired the same drill using the "modern" carbine technique – body squared to the target, elbows rotated down and in, upper body leaning into the gun, and
stock brought up to the cheek. This position removes all the vertical and lateral play from the gun, channels recoil straight back, provides better balance and reduces the reliance on the
support arm. Additionally, as I first learned from my FR&I courses, this same basic stance is compatible with empty-hand techniques, edged weapons, pistols and long guns, which greatly simplifies
training. After the basic foundation was established, we broke for lunch and prepared to start hitting it hard from then on.
The second half of the day was spent blistering through a variety of shooting drills and positions; Sully's goal being to expose the students to as many
ideas and techniques as possible, which they can then evaluate and work with at greater length on their own. These included:
We then took a bit of a break as Sully demonstrated the versatility of the rifle sling, covering carry positions and sling options for single-, two- and three-point setups. He personally favors three-point slings, and explained that a good three-point design is capable of doing anything a single- or two-point can do, and more. Having tried several types of slings myself, I have come to the same conclusion. We then resumed live fire, learning to shoot off the weak-side shoulder, and doing so from a standing, kneeling and prone position. Weak-side shooting, be it with carbine or pistol, is something I and most folks don't do nearly enough of. Sully stressed the importance of working weak-side techniques into your regular training routine.
We ended an extremely busy first day by putting up military grid targets and getting our sights dialed in. The differences between the military 25-meter zero and the preferred 50-yard "Improved Battlesight Zero" were explained. Up until now, all our shooting had been done at fairly short distances and precision didn't really matter since we were more concerned with building basic skills. But that would change on Day Two, when we moved over to the distance range to shoot steel at 300 yards!
DAY TWO
We began by assembling at the 25-yard range to confirm the zeroes we had established the day before, then immediately moved over to the distance range. From 100, 200 and 300 yards, we took turns shooting
steel silhouette and half-silhouette targets as Sully called out corrections. "Right, six inches", "High, 1 foot" and so on. This was the first time I'd shot any of my carbines beyond 100 yards, and it was a real
eye-opener. I shot from prone, going 3 for 3 at 100 yards, 3 for 6 at 200 yards, and 3 for 4 at 300 yards on my first string. We spent an hour or so at 300 yards, until everyone had done a couple runs and was
comfortable with how their carbines performed at range. Although the range itself was 500 yards long, we were unable to shoot from that position due to time constraints. Just as well, since with my eyes I have no business
shooting at anything smaller than a Mack truck at that distance!
The remainder of the day was spent back on the 25-yard range. We first covered shooting while moving – forward, backward, and laterally (both right and left). During these exercises, the non-shooting students acted as "controllers" for the shooters, keeping in physical contact with them and regulating their speed so the line stayed even. Several techniques for forward advancement were covered, including "step/drag", the "Groucho walk" and the "SAS". The latter was a new technique to me; it involves moving at a brisk walking pace until contact is made, then going immediately to "baby steps" at the same cadence to gain stability, firing two rounds, and stepping back into the normal stride. The advantages are that it is much less strenuous than the Groucho and allows quicker coverage of longer distances while still creating a stable shooting platform. Multiple targets were also integrated into the lateral movement drills, with each student progressing down a line of targets, engaging each one in turn.
Next up was malfunction clearance procedures, for which we used Action Trainers (dummy rounds) to simulate stoppages. The immediate action drill Sully presented for the carbine was the same as for the pistol - TAP, RACK, BANG. If that didn't work, we were instructed to go to bolt lock, rip the mag out, physically stick our finger into the mag well to clear a possible double feed, then insert a new mag and cycle the action – again similar to the LOCK, RIP, WORK routine for the handgun. I'm glad we learned these procedures and I will practice them, but the fastest immediate-action drill for a carbine malfunction at close range is still to transition to the pistol if one is available.
We then progressed into the two neatest drills of the weekend – first was the "18" or "Devil's Drill", which involved firing 6 rounds standing, 6 rounds kneeling and 6 rounds prone at a distance of 18 yards, with a reload
between each position, in 18 seconds. Target was a 21" x 24" torso target (the orange portion in the picture) and all rounds had to be inside the colored area. It was daunting at first, with most students running well over the allotted time. But in subsequent runs as students settled down and
concentrated on time management and economy of motion (ie reloading while dropping to kneel), most were able to pass. Sully said times of 13-16 seconds were not unheard of; my personal best was about 14.
The final drill we covered was the "Israeli Two-Step". Sully half-jokingly says that the act of participating in this drill initiates a student into M.O.S.S., or the "Mystical Order of Secret Shit". The technique itself defies explanation. It is completely mind-blowing the first time you see it done, but once the theory behind it is explained, you realize how obvious and brilliantly simple it is. Using this technique, a student can go from a dead sprint into a stable, mobile shooting platform almost instantly. If you want details, you'll have to take the course for yourself, but I will say that the effectiveness of the technique cannot be denied, and it by itself was worth the price of admission!
The course concluded with a practical "final exam" stressing precise shot placement – a test of the basic skills we had learned on Day One - followed by a few closing words from Sully and the distribution of course certificates.
IN SUMMARY
To be honest, I went into this class not expecting a whole lot; the combination of low cost, large class size and varying student experience levels didn't strike me as a formula conducive to
learning a lot. Boy, was I wrong! Sully was able to efficiently run a large line while minimizing downtime, and provide a good balance of basic and more advanced course material. He crammed a TON of stuff into two days,
and a surprising amount of it was new, or was material I had forgotten since Pat's course last year. Though comparisons to other carbine courses are inevitable, they are not necessarily appropriate. Sully makes a point of saying
"I don't teach anybody else's course", and indeed, the skills learned here complement those I've learned elsewhere, without too much overlap. Different instructors emphasize different things and
have different teaching styles; it is worthwhile to take courses from multiple sources and assimilate the best of each into your "tactical toolbox". DETC Carbine I/II is an excellent value for the money, and I highly recommend it!
DRUTHERS
Sully's approach to teaching has its pluses and minuses. We were exposed to a LOT of ideas and skills, which is good, but we didn't dwell on any of them long enough that I truly felt
comfortable. I understand the idea is to experiment with and practice them on my own time, but I'd at least like to know that I have the technique correct before I do so! To that end, I would've appreciated more feedback, either in the form of
praise or criticism from the instructor, or scored courses of fire. Finally, several skills I would call essential for any carbine course were either glossed over or omitted entirely. These included transitioning to pistol (we only ran through the Meltdown one time, and fired less than 50 rounds of
pistol ammo), reloading techniques, ammo management (ie tactical reloads as needed) and failure drills (head shot, pelvic shot or "non-standard response", in the event a center-mass hit fails to stop the attacker). I can only hope that some of these things are included in DETC's Carbine III course, and that Sully offers it
in Racine or another convenient location next year!