Black Hat Trianing Corps 1 day UKD Course June 5, 2010
Black Hat Training Corps' one day UKD course at MCSA, Lewistown, PA. The day started with students immediately getting on the guns, picking a target that they felt they could confidently hit, and engaging it with a CBS shot. Most made a first round hit in the 450-500 range. Practicing what we preach, the instructors shot this, and all the other drills too with Mike's CBS hitting at 1000, and Freddy's at 803Y.
After the CBS and piss 'n vinegar was out, we started to focus on breaking UKD shooting down into component skills, with a little classroom review on UKD shooting. Having a plan, precision, and making it work were emphasized, as well as taking home good engagement data in addition to empty brass. Good fundamentals were stressed all day.
FUNDAMENTALS, FUNDAMENTALS, AND MORE FUNDAMENTALS! Everyone grasped that even the best fire adjustment is totally worthless if it is provided based on the fall of a poorly fired first round. If people learned anything we wanted it to be that the BRM skills matter MORE the higher up the difficulty ladder you climb. Keeping good data, getting into position the same way every time, staying straight behind the gun, and moving the whole system from target to target were key to succeeding in some of the more difficult drills the students were asked to complete.
Example: Students were given a 3 target engagement in the 700-850Y range, and were instructed to prepare a data book sheet that properly told the whole story. The targets were actually 739Y, 750Y, and 800Y. Freddy shot this drill too, and recorded it so the students could see an example sheet. He collected the students data books, and reviewed them. This is the only area all day where the entire class was out to lunch with only two exceptions. I gave Dennis a B+. Gerry a C-. Everyone else "F". Sorry guys, but I'm not doing you any favors if I bullshit you. The importance of being able to do this cannot be overstated.
12 steel targets out to 1000Y (with most in the 500-850 range). One target was intentionally camouflaged with color and partially visible. It had to be engaged based on relative distance to another visible target. At one point a team of turkey vultures flew in and one landed on top of the head of this target, completely revealing its position, as the vulture would otherwise seem to be sitting in mid-air. He was soon chased off by another one who took his place. The wildlife and the views at this club are absolutely breathtaking.
A series of drills at various distances were set up to emphasize different skills. Relative ranging,
- MIL it
- engage it
- hit it
- cross-reference what's on the rifle to the dope card to check the distance
- record it
- lase it to verify.
We also had some other company, and we were not the deadliest thing on the mountain. An Eastern timber rattlesnake that was 3' from me when I got out of the truck setting targets up, and a beautiful spotted fawn, less than 1 week old. We didn't see coyotes, but were told that if seen, they are to be engaged at any opportunity.
It was a great group of guys with a very nice variety of skills and prior training including MIL/LE, and tuned in civilian LR shooters.
A lot of the targets were repositioned throughout the day to shake it up. Especially the "Bad Guy" target, which was camo green & brown, and was always hidden to some extent. In fact quite a few of the targets were partially obscured so they couldn't be measured well. In those cases, shooters had to MIL the nearest target to it, and engage the concealed target based on the relative distance from the visible target.
The guys at the range, Abe, Ron, and Bob could not have been nicer and more accommodating. Abe is a seasoned LR shooter and hunter with whitetail deer taken out to 1257Y, and whistle pigs farther than that. His shot calls were right on the money everytime, and all the students benefitted from his being there. Long range shooting experience doesn't grow on trees. The lesson here is to learn how to recognize it, and soak it up like a sponge.
There was some serious interest in a two day fundamentals course expressed. We will be looking to assemble that soon. It's likely we will do it across two weekends, with one at a club further east, and day 2 shooting longer up at MCSA.
This was not a simple course, and was definitely tilted toward the intermediate/advanced level. One of the students was only 16 years old but is already a fairly seasoned LR shooter who has trained with us before. He cleaned up a 3 target UKD drill 3 for 3 where the targets where 710, 750, and 803Y (the hidden camo guy). 3 for 3, and he was also 4 for 4 on a UKD holdover drill between 300 and 610Y (303, 449, 475, 515, and 610), knocking the drill out in about 35 seconds. I'm glad he's gonna be shooting for team America......
