Brushbeater Fighting AK Course Review By Johnny Paratrooper

My first training course with the Brushbeater crew was entertaining and educational.
I’ll give a quick review on the Pro’s and Con’s of the course and then follow up with a short conclusion. Needless to say, I enjoyed the after-hours event hosted by “NC Scout” and Company the most. There was no shortage of beers and whiskey and the conversations were priceless. I haven’t left the house much, except for work, since COVID-19. I really enjoyed the laughs and lessons. During the Brushbeater afterhours entertainment, I learned as much as I did during the day. We discussed all things America, Current Events, and 2A.
Pro’s-

  1. You get to perform movements that are banned at most shooting ranges and training courses.
  2. You can run the training lessons again, time permitting. Just hop back in line.
  3. Observing, using, and handling the equipment of other shooters.
  4. Conversing with other patriots on tactics, gear, and current events. Meatspace Matters.
  5. The instruction is practical and useful. No fancy egos or ridiculous training philosophies.
  6. What kit works and what kit doesn’t. Not all kit is created equal.

Con’s-

  1. No Long-Range confirmation on zero. But I can, and will, do that at my local range.
  2. The class may have been a little too large, but the more the merrier in my opinion.
  3. No handouts on AK zero theory, trajectory, or terminal performance. However, I can test this on my own, make a technical packet, and make a supplementary DOPE book.
  4. Raise hands before speaking. Classroom environments require classroom rules.
  5. Every AK should be zeroed first thing on day 1, and before the day 2 AAR/EOB marker. No one should leave with an un-zeroed weapon.
  6. The shooting range needs some TLC.

I had a great time at the course. I have been considering which Brushbeater class I would attend for nearly a year, and I decided the AK course would be the best. My reasoning was two-fold; I have essentially zero practical experience with the AK, and I don’t even own an AK. I learned the AK is functional, handy, and the rare malfunction clears itself with a solid rack of the charging handle and a healthy dose of gravity. During the first block of instruction on Saturday morning NC Scout asked a simple question “Whose AK is zeroed?” about half the class, including myself, raised their hands. Immediately after this question, we dropped to the ground and zeroed our weapons. Needless to say, my AK was off by nearly 2 inches down and left. I was not zeroed. At 200 yards, I would have missed any threats by nearly 6 inches off their right hip.
The AK training was a crash course in military style AK training without the headaches of endless safety briefs. There was no shortage of magazine changes, observing other shooters perform drills, clear malfunctions, testing kit, mounts, magazines, and weapons. I will take these lessons, bring them home to my crew, and begin to train my guys to the same standard. The AK platform is a very capable platform, and I was glad to see nearly everyone had flash hiders and optics. It’s important to shoot you weapons to stop check your gear and get everything on the weapon settled in.

-Quick Lessons-

  1. Properly mount your optic. Mount and remount your optic 3-4 times. Torque to spec each time. Clean your threads and then use blue “Loctite” and let it cure properly. This is the correct way. Re-zero your weapon ASAP.
  1. It’s important to continuously practice magazine reloads. Some mags fit better than others and breaking them in is important. You should also load your mags and test fire every single one to confirm the feed angle, and magazine, is within specs.
  1. Stretch. Shooting environments can require awkward angles of engagement. I was very stiff in some positions. I need to work on my flexibility and physical fitness. The use of a 9-hole barricade exposed several of my weaknesses. It was a humbling experience.
  1. Fighting from the ground, to your feet, is harder than it looks. Practice, Practice, Practice. I looked and felt sloppy. My groups were not good.
  1. Quality gloves are required when using a fighting weapon. Especially a stamped steel weapon. I recommend a pair of black motocross gloves one size larger than fitted.
  1. Rifle Slings, in my experience, exist in a perpetual state of love and hate. I like slings and I have them on all my weapons, but rarely use them with few exceptions. I have a ring of 550 paracord on the end of my sling and a quality durable, well-made screw locking carabiner on the right shoulder of my LBE. I prefer this method in combination with a two-point sling.
  1. If you own thousands of dollars in guns, ammo, and optics, but don’t have any training; You need to fix that ASAP.

  1. My camping gear was an unorganized, backwards mess. It has been remedied since.

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About the Author: NC Scout

NC Scout is the nom de guerre of a former Infantry Scout and Sergeant in one of the Army’s best Reconnaissance Units. He has combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He teaches a series of courses focusing on small unit skills rarely if ever taught anywhere else in the prepping and survival field, including his RTO Course which focuses on small unit communications. In his free time he is an avid hunter, bushcrafter, writer, long range shooter, prepper, amateur radio operator and Libertarian activist. He can be contacted at [email protected] or via his blog at brushbeater.wordpress.com .

26 Comments

  1. Matt Bracken January 28, 2021 at 06:45

    Great review, tracks well with my similar experiences. Nothing substitutes for getting out there and doing it, from learning about loose optics to your “bug out” (or camping) setup.

    • Johnny Paratrooper January 28, 2021 at 10:01

      My camping gear was a mess. And it was 22 degrees out.
      I brought WAY to much stuff to the course.
      I only needed about half of what I brought.
      Which is a lesson for training and the real world.

      • wwes January 28, 2021 at 13:20

        I learned the same thing in the Scout course in December, my camping gear was a train wreck, and I had way more crap with me than what I needed. That was just as educational in it’s own way as the course itself.

        • Johnny Paratrooper January 28, 2021 at 14:16

          The “Good Idea” fairy has one saying. “You need this”
          The fact is, you don’t.

  2. SOG January 28, 2021 at 07:35

    what is the gear list and round count on the AK course? NC jump in if possible.

    • PartisanMD January 28, 2021 at 09:33

      https://brushbeater.org/course-packing-lists/
      Same as carbine:
      “Weapon w/ 300 rounds
      Four Mags
      Eye/Ear Pro
      Gloves
      Your personal tactical gear”

      • SOG January 28, 2021 at 12:24

        roger,that is verrrry reasonable especially given ammo cost and availability lately. you still see some of these courses with 800-1200 round counts out there

        • NC Scout January 28, 2021 at 13:32

          Yeah brother. There’s a huge amount that can be done with a limited round count. I learned this in Afghanistan while training our local nationals, who didn’t have much in the way of ammo. But we modified the drills we were using to accommodate this reality and the results spoke for themselves.

    • PartisanMD January 28, 2021 at 09:35

      Most in last class burned 240-260.

    • VAdeputy January 28, 2021 at 09:46

      And NC, since you seem to be doing more AK classes than AR centric at the current time, would bringing an AR carbine to the AK class just to get the training be ok ?

      • NC Scout January 28, 2021 at 09:53

        Definitely bro.

        • VAdeputy January 28, 2021 at 09:58

          Thank you sir.

          • NC Scout January 28, 2021 at 10:00

            The whole reason I’m running AK classes more frequently is to save ammo for the students. But if you’ve got it, I’d love to train you.

        • Mike January 28, 2021 at 11:02

          Dangit, I’d have brought my Mk47 Mutant if I’d known that. I’ll have to hop on the next one.

    • Johnny Paratrooper January 28, 2021 at 10:05

      I fired about 250ish rounds.
      I skipped a few of the mag reload lanes to save ammo. Favoring to practice reloads on the sideline.
      I ran the 3-5 second rush lane several times.
      My favorite part about 3-5 second rushes is the sound of rounds flying past you at 2300 FPS.
      You could, in theory, get away with 210 rounds.

  3. Anonymous January 28, 2021 at 08:01

    5

  4. Anonymous January 28, 2021 at 08:49

    3.5

  5. Cavguy January 28, 2021 at 09:29

    HEY JP!!! Maxiflex gloves are good too. You can find them on the inter webs. These are what I use. https://www.gloves-online.com/coated-g-tek-maxiflex-endurance-full-coated-gloves (I call them gloves with pleasure bumps) I keep a set in all my gear bags. I buy them by the dozen. They clean up great in a sink with soap or in the washer. They start out tight but work in nicely in time. You can pick up a dime with these gloves on. Not very warm but thats not what they are made for. So there you go.
    Cavguy

  6. James January 28, 2021 at 10:15

    Nice write up Johnny,seems a lot was learned there.I will say probably the best things you learned are were you need work/more practice in some areas.
    I would add on optic mounting to on the rail put a dot of white sharpie either behind or in front of mount of said optic,that way can be removed and remounted and probably still zeroed,obviously check that.A lot of folks have quick release mounts on aim points ect.this just makes it a little quicker if removed to get back on track.
    As seems a basically simple rifle to maintain and until just very recently the 7.62 was unlike other rounds very reasonably priced helped add to the AK ownership rise and folks also building AK-15’s ect.
    I would really like to do a course but at moment am not willing to travel a 1000 miles with a rifle thru many states that would be considered enemy territory,hopefully the environment in the country is more road trip friendly(not going to hold my breath on that one).

    • Johnny Paratrooper January 28, 2021 at 11:34

      Thanks buddy. I’m glad that my friend’s gear is squared away.
      The roads are wide open. The police are basically running skeleton crews because the economy is retracting.
      The rest of the police are busy with record levels of domestic violence, suicides, welfare checks, and drug overdoses.
      Also, everyone else is sitting in their houses watching Netflix and celebrating the Chi-Com/Zionist seizure of our country.
      The system is already seizing up. COVID-19 has caused so much damage to our country it’s hard to measure.

    • wwes January 28, 2021 at 13:23

      If you decide to make the trip, I just made a drive from Montana to North Carolina on the 7th and 8th, and like JP said, the roads were wide open. I actually saw the least LEO presence that I have ever seen on the highways when doing long distance trips. Flying out to MT wasn’t bad at all either, the airports and planes were pretty empty.

  7. HP January 28, 2021 at 12:08

    TZ and I had a hell of a good time training with a top notch group of men (and lady). JP is correct- the after hours time is as valuable as the training time itself. NC Scout’s training style is simple and effective. He builds trust and confidence in his students right out of the gate. His training the trainers concept was evident with the easily duplicatable drills. Contact drills, reloads, malf drills, and the Rittenhouse- all good stuff! You can bet I’ll be making some 9 hole boards this Spring. Thanks again Scout!
    Definitely a good idea to bring multiple types of mags. I found that the polymer Bulgarians worked best in my weapon, and the Croatian steel ones didn’t work at all. I brought a small ammo can filled with bulk loose fill ammo and just about used all of it- probably 300+ rds. Also function tested SP vs FMJ vs HP.
    Hat tip to Johnny for letting me check out some nice gear Friday night- thanks Brother!
    If you are considering training at Brushbeater, don’t hesitate just do it! Now is the time patriots.

    • Johnny Paratrooper January 28, 2021 at 12:30

      Very True Brother.
      After the AK training ends it’s only a matter of time before everyone pulls out their radios and NODs and you get the quick and dirty on everyone’s gear.
      Cross training is important.
      The guy who had those Leupold thermals impressed me. What a dangerous toy.

      • HP January 28, 2021 at 12:52

        LOL that was me

        • wwes January 28, 2021 at 13:25

          Someone had one of the Leupolds at the Scout Course in December too, and I was impressed, it was a nice piece of equipment, especially at the price point you can find them for.

        • Johnny Paratrooper January 28, 2021 at 14:24

          TACTICAL ZEENNNNN! and HP.
          Good times.
          I’m def going to the next “AK” Course.

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