BMWguy206 Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Instructors: Voodoo and Babushka Number of students: 3 Shotguns used: Benelli M4's, Remington 870's, and Mossberg 590. Weather: Chilly to mild. Cloudy. Round Count: 124 birdshot, 70 buckshot, 51 slugs. Started out the day with a safety brief, emergency plan, and firearm safety rules. Instructors talked to us about the shotgun nomenclature, the different types of shotguns used (pump and semi) the shotguns used in law enforcement, and the different types of ammo used. After the "classroom" session the instructors showed us how to load, unload, and port load our shotguns. Other agencies and the military might call this "assembly area loading". Their preferred method is port loading from underneath the shotgun. We'll do a port loading drill a few times then talked about shooting fundamentals. One of the most important things during the loading process is using your "work space". The next thing we did was zero out shotguns with birdshot ammo. My shotgun is a Benelli M4 with an Aimpoint R-1 so I had to make some adjustments since the optic was brand new. Other students had ghost sights and they too made some adjustments. During the zeroing Voodoo will make us shoot further out with buck shot and at the same time talk to us about spread patterns. At 25 yards we shot slugs to see where we're at. At this point our shotguns were zeroed and the students knew how to port load and and load their shotguns. Now it's into shotgun manipulation. One drill that the instructors gave us was to port load a round into the chamber and one in the tube. He'll tell us to fire 3 shots center mass of the target but after two shots none of us really knew what to do since we didn't have a third round in our shotgun. That's when Voodoo and Babushka talked to us about combat reloads then admin reloads. Malfunction discussion was short. Most malfunctions are shooters forgetting to turn off the safety and short stroking. For semi-auto's they can have stove-pipes or failure to feed because the bolt didn't fully cycle due to weak ammo. I experienced a few "safety off" malfunctions on my Benelli and failure to feed due to weak ammo with birdshot. After lunch the instructors talked to us about recoil management. When shouldering the shotgun the instructors will tell us to "squeeze" or "spread" the shotgun. I found that the "spread" technique works for me with a semi-auto and guys with the pump action used the "squeeze" technique. Next on the list was transitioning to handgun which was new to one student so we spent some time on that. After transitioning we did some turning then shooting drills, shooting while moving laterally, and shooting while moving forward. The last drill we did was the "Rolling Thunder Drill". This has got to be one of the most stressful drills that I have ever done. The rolling thunder drill is a team effort exercise in which the students shoot an X amount of rounds to the target while manipulating the shotgun doing combat and admin reloads. During this drill the instructors will induce stress to the shooter. There were only 3 students on this drill so it was very difficult yet fun. What I have learned: Shooting prone with the shotgun is very difficult to do vs. an AR15. That the "Spread" technique when shooting a semi-automatic reduces recoil. How to unload a shotgun from the magazine tube (other than just racking the slide) That I am much faster at over the top port loading but need to practice port loading from the bottom of the shotgun. A 2-point sling may not work for me A full length magazine tube is worth it The Benelli M4 is a big gun for my height (will look into the Urbino stock) Both instructors did a great job in teaching us how to manipulate the shotgun and were very patient with us. Despite that there were only 3 students both Voodoo and Babushka still taught the class with motivation and determination as if we had 10 or more students. A lot of attention were given to each and every one us and as usual with Falcon you get some pretty funny jokes out of them. MEDIA: Sorry for the lack of pictures but I just didn't have any time to grab the camera and take them. Picture of my shotgun Ammo used: OK so I am having a difficult time embedding the youtube videos here so just click on the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnDeNOr5V8c http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-LSoq03BBk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlvjN8q4c_0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKhu76AMYTE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ctxYc4LSds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMWguy206 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Shotguns resting on the rack Instructor with a student (870) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMWguy206 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Student doing a prone shoot with his Benelli M4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c350z Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Great AAR, could you elaborate on the spread and squeeze technique? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMWguy206 Posted January 12, 2011 Author Share Posted January 12, 2011 Great AAR, could you elaborate on the spread and squeeze technique? Thanks C350z! I'm going to night class now. I'll try to explain it better tonight but I think a video with demo might be better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c350z Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 Thanks C350z! I'm going to night class now. I'll try to explain it better tonight but I think a video with demo might be better. A video would be great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlton Posted January 12, 2011 Share Posted January 12, 2011 very nice thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
match308 Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 Youll love the Urbino stock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMWguy206 Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 Youll love the Urbino stock. That will be my next modification. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMWguy206 Posted January 13, 2011 Author Share Posted January 13, 2011 (edited) A video would be great OK I heard this guy invented the push/pull or spread/squeeze technique. It really works for me but I still have to practice with it. Edited January 13, 2011 by BMWguy206 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c350z Posted January 13, 2011 Share Posted January 13, 2011 OK I heard this guy invented the push/pull or spread/squeeze technique. It really works for me but I still have to practice with it. Thanks, looks interesting i will try it out next time i go to the range Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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