Day two of Michigan Defensive Firearms Institute’s (MDFI) first Tucson visit, in January 2008, was Carbine 1 at the Pima Pistol Club: a course in operating and shooting a light rifle effectively and safely at close range. For most of the class it was their first carbine instruction, and they caught on quickly.
Course overview
- School: Michigan Defensive Firearms Institute, taught by Steve Fisher with assistant instructor Casey
- Course: Defensive Carbine Level One, the first step toward Carbine II
- Cost: $125, limited to 12 students
- Prerequisite: A pistol license or certification
- Required gear: A carbine (pistol-caliber allowed), 600 carbine rounds, at least 100 handgun rounds, three or more magazines, an on-body magazine carrier, a handgun and strong-side holster, and a sling
- Topics: fighting stance, zeroing, holdover, malfunction drills, shooting from 50 yards and beyond, gear choices, and the myths around the platform
How the day ran
- Zero: confirmed at 50 yards, with Casey watching shot placement. Most rifles were already zeroed, so it went quickly.
- Full curriculum: Fisher taught from his manual and covered all of it, and the late Low Light class added more on top.
- Demonstrations: Fisher shot every drill himself in front of the class, showing both how to do it and that speed and accuracy are possible with practice.
- Mag pickup: retrieving a magazine from the ground while keeping the rifle ready, head up and eyes on the threat.
- Malfunctions: many malfunction drills, the core of any carbine class. A light bulb moment for everyone: carry a strong knife, not for defense but for clearing the worst type-three malfunctions.
- Off-hand: switching the rifle to the support side. Seeing it done properly made a previously confusing technique make sense.
- Movement: shooting while walking forward, backward and on the obliques, with team awareness and communication between partners. Transitions were stressed over reloads: stay in the fight, and reload behind cover if possible.
- Positions: several prone variations. The AR-15 needs only a few inches of clearance to shoot from low cover, which answers critics who say it is too tall. One student took a charging handle to the nose during these drills and kept shooting.
- Getting up: recovering from prone back to standing while scanning and communicating was part of the drill, something rarely taught.
- Team demos: while waiting for dark, Fisher demonstrated police-style team drills for continuous fire while moving as a group.
The rifles
- All but one student ran an AR-15, including one M16 and a few short-barreled rifles. All had collapsible stocks, railed handguards and optics (four EOTechs and two Aimpoints), and four used vertical foregrips. The optics caused no problems.
- One student ran a Daewoo, a hybrid that takes AR-15 magazines with an AK-style gas system and a side-folding stock. Another ran an AK-47 with a low-profile chest rig for part of the day.
- Fisher’s own AR is simple, with only the necessary quality parts, which keeps it light and fast.
Gear lessons
- A loose rear sight (use thread locker) and a poorly placed medical kit (moved to the other side of the chest rig) showed up on the range, which is exactly what classes are for.
- A collapsible cleaning rod with a shock cord, like a tent pole, in a belt pouch is a clever piece of kit.
Takeaways
- Classes are the place to find your gear problems before they matter.
- Learn to shoot low from prone and to get back up while still fighting.
- One student fired 1,400 rounds across Carbine 1 and Low Light; bring more ammunition than you think you need.
- Read the Handgun 1 and Low Light reports from the same visit.
Originally published on After Action.net on January 21, 2008. Rebuilt from the archived report; the original photos were not preserved. See every class in the Training Log, or share your own training experience.
(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)