Building a Pistol Training Course

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javacodeman

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A couple of guys and I are considering building a training course. Here are our objectives:

1) Mostly for pistols; would be nice to be able to use carbines as well
2) More for "real world" practice than for competition
3) Configurable so that it is not the same thing all of the time
4) Cost is always a factor; in other words, cheaper is better if two options present the same safety and performance, but the cheaper one requires more upkeep/labor (I hope that makes sense)

Any suggestions, pointers, tips, blueprints, etc.?

Thanks!
 
Might help to get a couple of classes by good trainers so you know how it's done elsewhere. (thinking Gunsite, Ayoob, McKee)

As far as a physical footprint, a 360 degree berm would be great.
 
Lee,
I did not take it that the poster was "offering" training, just that he wanted to build a "training course" ie advanced range.

Javacodeman,
Did the same thing myself. First, and biggest, problem is location. You will need a large enough space to permit movement and to install suitable features such as obstacles and realistic cover/concealment (some of these items can be portable). The range should be designed to permit as close to a 360 degrees arc of fire as possible (at least 90 degrees left and right of the center-line would be desirable). Safety berms will need to be adequate in appropriate directions. Safety procedures have to be well thought out and strictly enforced since the sort of movement permitted by a range such as this causes much greater risk of error.

Our range is dug into a fairly steep hillside. It is 36 feet wide and 75 feet long. The floor is covered in fine gravel. The dirt pulled out of the hillside was used as fill-dirt to grade the rear end of the range level and increase the height of the side banks. The target end of the excavation (actually the steep face created when the hillside was excavated) is 14 feet high. The berms to the left and right of the 7 yard shooting position are 12 feet high. It is amazing how much work can be done in a short time by a big excavator with a skilled operator.

The range has a low wall off to one side at about the 12 yard point to provide fixed cover. We have portable concealment and simulated cover. Part of the side of the range has steps and flat areas to permit shooting at the targets from various elevations. We have an assortment of simulated stairways, wobbly planks on concrete blocks, and we can make obstacle courses with concrete blocks and lengths of lumber. We do have an 8 target turning target system which is a bit of a luxury but a great training aid.

Surprisingly, if you own the land, the cost of the excavator work is not too bad and the training aids only need small cost and some labor. We have two regular users of the range but we both invite friends - who have a great time. The guests can't believe the fun they have after experiencing the artificial restrictions on public ranges.
 
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Excuse me if I misinterpreted the OP. Is this indeed a question regarding range preparation and range drills?

lpl
 
Lee,

Sorry if I mislead you. As Mr_Rogers guessed, this would not be us offering training to anyone. It would be us "training" ourselves, so to speak. An "advanced range" is probably a better term.

This is not on my land, but a friends. He had the idea and asked what I thought and if I'd do some investigation for him. It would be out in the country and a large section of land. He already has a berm that covers about 200 degrees. Making 360 degrees is one of the things we already discussed. (He has some land movers.)

Can you go into more detail about the construction of your portable concealments. How about pop up targets?
 
Java, you may want to go to a local IDPA match - Charleston has an active group. Here in Columbia, we use various props constructed from wood (doorways, walls and such) and we scored a bunch of 50 gallon barrels from one of the soft drink bottlers. We use the barrels as portable cover as needed.

If you can budget for it, go to a school. :) It will surprise you how much you can do if you have a baseline of knowledge and some mental flexability. :D
 
As far as portable concealment, get Green Eyes and Black Rifles, I think the VTAC target is one of the best because it's designed to replicate several different types of cover commonly found.

Also to replicate shooting under a car, take a couple of cinder blocks, make them tall for trucks, use the shorter side to replicate cars.

Other then that I like GT Targets, Action Target, Targets.net, and even LaRue all offer targets stands, and targets that you can shoot at.
 
If you haven't, take a class first.

Then go visit some IDPA or IPSC matches. They'll give you some really good ideas on pits and target construction.
 
OK- let's clarify the semantics a little first of all, just for the benefit of the stodgy old retired librarian here. Mr. Webster sez to train is to form by instruction, discipline, or drill b: to teach so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient, to make prepared (as by exercise) for a test of skill or to undergo instruction, discipline, or drill ( http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/train[3] ). In my mind, training always involves a trainer, an instructor, or a teacher.

What we do on our own IMHO is practice, not training. We train in order to learn new skills from a good instructor, then we practice in order to make sure we develop muscle memory for those new skills so we can eventually perform them reflexively. The goal, as the folks at ATSA put it, is "unconscious competence."

Thus my misunderstanding of the intent of the OP...

I definitely echo Bullfrog Ken here. Take a class or two first. Look at how the instructor teaches and what is used in teaching. Some of the itinerant instructors (see the partial list at http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=396584 ) might be your best bet for simplicity, if you want to go that way.

Louis Awerbuck for example travels all over the country to existing flat ranges, and carries everything he needs in the back of a standard full size pickup truck with a fiberglass bed cover (not camper shell, bed cover). But what's between his ears matters a LOT more than what's in the bed of that pickup. :D It's good to take advantage of what some of these folks know and are happy to teach you- after all, you want to be practicing the best skills you can manage, if you're going to practice.

hth,

lpl
 
I'm doing the same here is what I'm doing
First I'm a retired SFC with 3 combat tours. I served in the 19th Group with Ed Stock and others. Ed is now at Gunsite.
I graduated from Mas Ayoobs LFI I , assisted at another LFI and am attending LFI II soon.
I'm getting my NRA CCW instructors certificate.
I will be attending both gunsite and Brownies school this year.
Next year I plan to begin teaching my classes and assist at LFI.
 
Some 'philosophy' on current carbine use, from John Farnam-

lpl
======================
http://www.defense-training.com/quips/16Mar09.html

Urban Rifle Skills

16 Mar 09

Urban Rifle:

At one-hundred meters, it isn't difficult for most of us to see, and effectively engage, paper targets, set against green backdrops, on sunny days, even with iron sights. Indeed, most of us consider a B27 target, at one-hundred meters, an "easy shot," with just about any rifle, and fromjust about any shooting position.

Now, change the "target" to several armed, aggressively-animated, and bloodthirsty VCAs, obscured by utility poles, door-frames, and crouching intall grass, during an overcast morning. Also, imagine that you are alone, confused, wet, cold, hungry, out of breath, and trembling uncontrollably, and the difficulty of producing effective, fight-ending rifle fire increases exponentially!

Add the inviolable requirement that threats be identified, and legitimately menacing individuals be thus positively differentiated from non-threatening ones.

In addition, imagine you're not doing all this on a familiar "one-way" range, and bullets, some aimed and some random, are flying in every direction, including yours!

Finally, imagine there are already causalities, on all sides. Those painfully wounded and dying are lying about, floundering and screaming, and there is little you can do to help any of them so long as the fight is active.

In view of the foregoing, one quickly realizes that, in real fighting, one-hundred meters in most urban settings, will provide challenge-a-plenty for even experienced riflemen, armed with utility, military rifles.

That is why, during our Urban Rifle Courses, we emphasize ranges between point-blank and one-hundred meters. We do some shooting at greater ranges, so that students can know the full capability, and weaknesses, of their equipment. But, most of our time is spent rapidly moving and engaging multiple targets with rifle fire, at ranges within one-hundred meters.

In golf, the drive, chip-shot, and putt all contribute to producing winning scores. However, golfers agree that it is the chip-shot where most games are won or lost.

In Urban Rifle, the equivalent is long-range shooting, rapid engagement at closer ranges, and CQB. All are important, but most fights are won or lost within one-hundred meters, our equivalent of the "chip-shot."

That is where we need to be most proficient!

/John

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created on Monday March 16, 2009 23:59:1 MDT
 
Interestingly enough, that's one of the big reasons I've started switching to glass on my serious rifles. I need to see the target better.
 
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