Here is my review/writeup of MAG 40: - please if anyone is unclear about anything I've said, or has attended Mas' classes and believes that I've made some sort of error, I'll hit the "edit" button and make corrections...
MAG40Review
“Begin with the end in mind.” That’s the phrase I best ascribe to Massad Ayoob’s outlook on armed self defense.
It’s both figurative, and literal – one of the first videos we watched dealt with post-shooting/post-assault trauma, recognizing symptoms and effects, and some strategies for mitigation.
It’s also an expression of Mas’ philosophy of emphasizing the legal aspects of a defensive encounter. It’s not that difficult to impart a reasonable level of proficiency to a shooter. Every now and then we even come across stories in which a would-be victim with no training prevails – at least in the physical part of the incident. What Mas really wants us to do is get through the messy legal stuff that almost invariably follows a defensive shooting.
For this MAG40, the range component was primarily taught by Frank Cornwall (Defense Associates), with additional instruction/range supervision by Gary Nalband (Defense Associates), Charlie Gager, and Mike Marceau. All were excellent, friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.
Range was Blue Trail in Wallingford, CT, and the classroom portion took place at the Four Points Sheraton in Meriden, CT.
The main purpose of the shooting portion was to have students become proficient enough to achieve a passing score on a Law Enforcement Qualification consisting of 60 rounds – at four yards/meters, six shots left hand, six shots right hand. Backing up to 7 yards, 12 rounds from any two-handed stance. At 10 yards/meters, six rounds each combat crouch, one knee crouch, both knees down. At 15 yards, six rounds each, two-handed, Weaver, Chapman, Isosceles. Your goal is to get within a specific zone (pretty much torso-sized), five points per shot. Anything off paper: -5. Passing score: 225, but a competitive spirit was fostered among all the students; I could tell that everyone was excited to go for perfection. Anyone scoring 300 gets a dollar bill signed by Mas. Anyone scoring a 300 and besting Mas’ group gets a signed five dollar bill. There’s also a fun bit of additional competition within each relay and between the relays to see who gets the best score/tightest group. By the way, on Qualification Day. Mas shot a fantastic group, roughly the size of a human fist. I think the next-best student’s performance was roughly 70% larger than that.
How to prepare for MAG40:
At the time of registration, you’ll be asked for a driver’s license, concealed carry permit, or if living in a permitless carry state, a letter of good conduct from the local police department. This is so whoever is giving the class has time to do a background check – Mas is quite emphatic that the material he and his associates teach should be reserved strictly for law enforcement and armed citizens of good character only.
Read Mas’ books and online articles.
The content about what justifies deadly force isn’t proprietary to the course and you should read up on it. It’s been said by Mas and others before, you can find it on your own. Make sure you’re a safe shooter. Ever make tiny little handling booboos at the range that no one seemed to notice or ding you on? Think and reflect on them and iron them out before you find yourself on the firing line. Poor muzzle discipline or other safety blunders will result in the student having to spend the rest of the range time either as an observer, or starkly humbled shooter with far more scrutiny put on their actions. A second violation will result in complete ejection from the course, without classroom participation, and with no refund.
While there:
Be prepared to take neat, detailed notes. Your notes are discoverable, so they should represent a lucid recitation of the material. You should add to them any other training experiences (and notes taken from them), a list of books and magazines and videos that have furthered your shooting education, and of course the qualification target, which demonstrates competence with your firearm. The best thing to do is mail it all to yourself, registered, and leave it sealed up, hopefully forever, or if needed, only in a courtroom by your defense attorney. By all means, transcribe handwritten notes to a computer document. Share notes among the class – no one person can possibly record every thought, so sharing them helps fill in the gaps and clarifies fuzzy areas. Speaking as a computer tech, keep in mind that physical media such as flash drives and CDs aren’t 100% reliable. And remember that file formats change – who knows if a Word document written in 1995 will be readable in 2021? Remember to put an extra copy of your notes in the one additional format that needs only hands, eyes and a glimmer of light to read – good old fashioned paper.
Take the instructors quite literally about not getting ahead. While on the line, after firing the prescribed number of rounds, do NOT eject the mag and reholster until told. No NOT reload the gun until told. Certainly DO NOT FIRE until told. The relays are physically long – keep yourself properly aligned with the rest of the people to your left and right.
This also applies to the classroom – the material flows smoothly and logically – try not to bring up questions or comments that pertain to something that feels like it’s coming up.
You’ll be told in the beginning: “everything we tell you twice or more, is especially worth remembering.” They mean it. Also take it literally that you should never shoot until given an affirmative signal to do so. Other students’ firing is NOT considered a go-ahead, you will not be penalized for refraining from shooting.
Never be afraid to raise the non-firing hand, while keeping your handgun pointed in a safe direction, to ask for malfunction assistance, or to clarify a point. I’ve yet to come across an instructor, at MAG40 or anywhere else, who lost their patience over a student’s need for assistance or clarification.
If there is anything Mas says is “off the record” please respect it as such.
Takeaways:
This is not a “tactical” or “marksmanship” course, although you should increase your situational awareness and scores if you take the instruction to heart. You’ll get remedial help if you’re a brand new shooter, and a bit of gentle tuning up if they see you’re good but could be doing a bit better. Generally the less they interact with you on the line (outside of safety issues) the better you’re doing. They allocate their attention based on who really needs it the most.
This is a class that brings into sharp relief the perils of both deadly assault, and an armed citizen’s response. Basically the idea is to avoid it as best you can, and if it’s unavoidable, manage the situation according to some important precepts. The supposedly sagacious advice of “clam up and don’t say anything” or “if it’s a good shoot you have nothing to worry about” are dangerous myths that Mas utterly rips to pieces. Many prosecutors use their discretion to lump self-defenders in with actual murderers, and they’ll use all sorts of tactics to sway the jury and win the conviction. The counter strategy is to rid your home and personal protection strategy of potential legal landmines, and meet every courtroom assault against you with counterpunches. Your choice of gun (or to use one), your choice of caliber, even your choice of ammunition can be twisted by the opposition like a knife that only stabs you in the back, or it can be coolly justified to the jury and assist in an acquittal.
The GunDudes went through MAG40 a while back. Everything they reported on their podcast, I experienced myself or by proxy. They have an unusually humorous take on things, so I wasn’t sure what was jocular hyperbole or fact, then I found out they weren’t kidding. The classroom sessions are long, intense and demanding of focus and attention. You’ll find yourself studying in your room, either alone or with other students. They reported having vivid dreams related to the staff and material, and so did myself and roughly half the class. One of Mas’ goals here is to impart a bit of Grossman-esque “stress inoculation” and he seems to have succeeded.
The Man:
Yes, my personal decision was driven at least in part by the having an opportunity to meet Mas in person. I’d heard of him since the late 1980s, and began finding his writings in print and later online in the late 1990s. I looked forward to meeting him, but understood even before arriving an important (if tacit) concept: MAG40 is taught by Mas (and highly trusted associates), but it’s not about Mas. It’s about us, and how we become better shooters, better responders to a crisis, and better people in general. Mas is really the repository and conduit of the knowledge. He’s willing to answer questions both in class, after class, and during breaks. He gives us contact information that we’re not to share outside of MAG40 participants, and encourages us to use it to ask any additional questions, and in a time of crisis, for our designated attorneys
Be informed ahead of time: a fair amount of the material is presented as video lectures from the LFI days. However, don't feel disappointed – it does more than just save Mas some time and energy. Far more importantly, it standardizes the experience, making sure that each class gets a full and consistent serving of the knowledge. In addition, those lectures can be a powerful jury education tool, and wouldn’t you want the jury to see a diligently made video rather than Mas doing his best on the stand to recall exactly what happened during one particular class several years prior?
Mas promises to review any self-defense case for his LFI and MAG graduates. If it’s clear to him that you’ve done the right things for the right reasons, he’ll serve as an expert witness at your trial, and waive his customary expert witness fee. You’re responsible for travel and lodging expenses.
