Training Notes: On Keeping It Simple

Whether you’re a well-seasoned and experienced trigger puller or new to the art of combat weaponcraft, a lesson that never get old is the importance of keeping your weapon simple. As a rule I don’t add or advocate any so-called enhancements– extended controls or any other unique modifications to the basic layout of the weapon. From a training perspective it reduces the number of potential training scars while making the shooter better on the basic platform as-is. From a potential gunfighter guerrilla perspective, it’ll make running any weapon you may potentially have to run on your team that much easier. In the end it all boils down to mastery of the fundamentals, and if you can do that, the rest is easy.

In the last Fighting Carbine Course I ran I had the honor of instructing a Marine Infantryman Vietnam Vet. The man had lost his right eye in Vietnam and became left handed out of necessity since then. A man who told me he’s trained with some of the best over the years, chief among them the late great Louis Awerbuck. So for him, running the AR can be a bit of a challenge. Like most weapons it has a design shortcoming when it comes to left handed shooters…a design shortcoming that’s overcome through training in the fundamentals. Nonetheless an AR that he had bought not that long ago had a few design implements to make it more practical to operate fully ambidextrous controls, magazine and bolt releases on both sides of the receiver, etc. And the weapon looked good. The problem was that during class many of the drills the students were performing were causing him a few issues, as his controls were completely unique to him. He was getting visibly frustrated, compounded by the fact that he was using only the flip up irons which came with the weapon.

He had one malfunction- a failure to extract that required mortaring the butt into the ground to clear. His buffer tube started walking loose and I pulled the gun offline. Although a bit disappointing for him, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise (as most things are). I placed my 10.5 inch Palmetto State Armory AR pistol in his hands topped with a Primary Arms 1x Cyclops that I’ve been running and evaluating since late June. Its identical to my 14.5 inch FN barrelled carbine, topped with my tried-and-true TA-01 ACOG. The platform is bone stock; no frills, no shortcuts, no gimmicks. And when we hit the firing line again, like magic, he was a whole different shooter. The visible frustration was gone- his speed improved as much from the optic as it did not getting hung up on a unique control layout. The drill that I showed him and the other left handed shooter for reloads with magazine retention suddenly became intuitive- using the right hand to manipulate the magazine release and the trigger finger of the left hand to hit the bolt release. He ran that weapon with complete proficiency the remainder of the course and gaining a ton of confidence along the way. As I told him and the class repeatedly, I wish I had recorded the difference between the beginning of the first day and to the end of the second.

For me, it reinforced the importance of simplicity once more, reminding me why every weapon I own that I may have to use in combat remains stock. Focusing on the fundamentals, a good shooter can become a great one through mastery of techniques, not gadgets. Once one masters those fundamentals, you might want to add a few enhancements here and there- and then again, maybe not. But by starting wrong through over-complicated equipment will never end right. There’s no other way to master those fundamentals of a platform than by continuous training with it. And if you need ammo (you need ammo, bud), check out out friends over at Ammo.com and get $15 off your first $200 order.

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13 Comments

  1. revjen45 November 5, 2019 at 08:52

    The crap people hang on guns can reach the point of parody. Our rifle club has hunter sight in every year, which brings in a lot of rifles. One fellow brought in a bubba’d-out SKS that looked like he wanted an AK, but figured he couldn’t afford it. By the time he had “accessoried” the SKS he could have had a cheapie AK. He spent the whole afternoon and shot all of the generous stock of the ammo he brought without getting the rifle to shoot to POA.
    In contrast, the man who brought a bone-stock Chinese commercial SKS and a sight tool had his rifle shooting to POA with about 20 rds and under 45 min. (a leisurely 45 min.).

  2. Anonymous November 5, 2019 at 09:36

    4.5

  3. Pastor Mike November 5, 2019 at 10:13

    I concur with you Sir, as someone who is right-handed and also disabled , but now has very limited use of my right-arm amongst other things now going wrong. I have had to make some changes myself however due to foresight back when I first started training with my issued M6A1, and other systems , I forced myself to learn how to not only shoot but to function solely left-handed if ever necessary. Besides having to now switch out my right-handed only holsters for ambidextrous ones (I still try to practice with my Right, just in case) , the ONLY other change that I have made is to replace the thumb safety on my 1911’s and AR’s with ambi. ones. The arthritis in my thumbs forced me to make that one concession.
    I wanted to keep everything else stock due to long-term muscle memory and to not complicate things for any other family members who would have to use them in the future. However now I will be changing the 1911s mag release to ambi’s also so it is more in line with my 1st-gen Springfield XD’s.

    Since I was younger and trained in the Israeli-style of carrying sidearms ( either using the rear sights to rack the slide or a sweep of the weak-hand to rack the slide as my strong-hand presented the pistol forward before engaging ) , yes I well know the controversy of doing so here in the States but I have done it that way since I was 17-years old (a looong time ago) , it works for me and at my age that’s all that matters.

    As for my shotguns I only have Mossbergs , as they have a factory ambi. safety , and I have been shooting those since I was 17-yrs old also , and once again any family member can use them.

    Now all of this doesn’t mean that I only know how to run just these weapons , not even close , just that these are the ones that I have as of late been narrowing my inventory down to . Anything else that I have has been left stock .
    Please keep up the great work and I will be re-posting your article over at http://www.threepercenters.org for my other friends to see and learn from.

    Thank You.

    • NC Scout November 5, 2019 at 10:38

      Thanks Brother for not only reading and sharing that but also for spreading the good word. Readers like you are why I write.

  4. Anonymous November 5, 2019 at 12:01

    5

  5. Hawkeye November 5, 2019 at 12:32

    I so wish more people would heed this. I see so many getting wrapped up in thinking they have to have a $1,500-$2,000 rifle so they don’t get mocked by the elitist gun snobs as being one of the “poors”. Your money is far better spent on mags, ammo, applicable training and practice. The same can be said for ones gear as well.

  6. Hawkeye November 5, 2019 at 12:32

    5

  7. SemperFi, 0321 November 5, 2019 at 12:55

    I wonder how many of those “obsolete” Viet Nam issue M-16A1’s are still out there, shiny from finish being worn off for several decades, and still doing their job without being goobered up with 6 lbs of unnecessary crap. I saw 30 yr old M-1 ‘s in the Philippines, looked like they had been dug up in a cave somewhere, and still in service with the Flip Marines. Then I see people here with safes full of guns, one guy I know has over 14 AR’s and not proficient with a single one, still doesn’t understand how to use a 25m sight in target. And like with everything else in our society, just because you own more cool crap than the next guy doesn’t mean you’re any good with it, as with all the glittery accessories that go with them. One thing the prepper movement has shown us, you can still sell a guy the most worthless garbage if you package it correctly or tell him it’s the newest in tacticool.
    And just like bug out bags, learn to use 5 basic tools instead of carrying 25 new kitsch items you haven’t even unwrapped. The most important one is between your ears.

  8. Boat Guy November 5, 2019 at 18:12

    Bride’s a southpaw. Bought her a Stag 2L and sent her to Thunder Ranch a decade ago. She learned using the irons, because that’s what one should do.
    The only things on her carbine are a light and an EOTech. She runs the gun well (the only ambidextrous control is the selector) because she was trained well.

  9. […] AR rifle for under $350. The days of the $350 AR-15 are numbered, so take advantage while you can. And as NC Scout pointed out yesterday, a “budget” build is all you need to be effective … (though in my opinion, Palmetto State far exceeds “budget” and I own enough of their […]

  10. Capt. D November 6, 2019 at 21:31

    A shout-out to American Partisan for all your articles, especially the past few weeks. You guys have the best site on the Web IMO. To all Patriots: I love you enough to tell you the truth… If you do not have a “freedom rifle” yet there is something wrong with you! Get something like the one described in this article. Buy from whomever you like but I like Palmetto. Get ammo. Get training (btw, I have been to Brushbeater’s school and it is the best in the nation, IMO). Form networks of friends. Get Comms and learn how to use them. Get right with God and love Him and others. Keep your powder dry. There’s a new urgency in the air…

  11. […] And as NC Scout pointed out yesterday, a “budget” build is all you need to be effective in the f… (though in my opinion, Palmetto State far exceeds “budget” and I own enough of their guns to back that up). […]

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