AAR: SSV Group, LLC; Practical Applied Rifle (Nov 7,8 - 2015)

[Dave_L]

I was one of the attendees and I'll post my experience:

First off, thanks to Kelly for putting this on for us. I appreciate the time you invested into the class and us.

Prior to this, I felt I was decent with a rifle. I go a handful of times per year, spend the day shooting paper/steel/clays. I know how to break down the rifle, operate it (or so I thought) and generally have a "decent" day at the range. I didn't really know what to expect this weekend. Again, I know how to handle an AR but I've never done a rifle class or other training. I was really hoping I'd just be able to keep up in a class. However, the way the class is taught, you never can be "behind". It was well laid out and makes sure you build the skills in the appropriate layers. This way, everyone moves up together. It was a lot of fun.

I'd also like to say that the beginning of the class, we found out a couple of the attendees were coming back after attending a class of Kelly's prior. I was standing next to one of them in the shooting line and as we started, I watched his groups compared to mine and knew I was in for a good class. His groupings were noticeably better than mine (I'm talking near shotgun look on mine and his looked like a rifle group). I figured that first class was paying dividends.

Well after attending Kelly's class, I've realized that I was far away from being efficient with it. I learned several basic stills that will greatly improve my efficiency and accuracy. I have a lot to work on but I now have the knowledge to improve my skills. My days to the range can be much more productive. If you're not training with a purpose/quantitative data, how can you expect to improve? I now have that ability thanks to Kelly and his knowledge/course.

The course also lets you try out all your tacticool gear. You learn really quick where the kinks are. This is something I NEVER would have found out with how my normal range days are. I have quite a few things I'm already changing around thanks to this weekend. You'll be surprised at how some things that sounded so good never worked so dumb.

To sum it all up, I feel a ton more confident in my ability to handle an AR and operate it efficiently. I have a ways to go but as long as I invest the time, I'll be a skilled shooter. Kelly was a great teacher and answered all the questions we threw at him. You invest lots of money into the hardware, now upgrade the software. It was a really fun weekend full of a ton of information. You won't regret it.

[kwando]

I was one of the attendees. Excellent class for a beginner or an experienced shooter. I have no formal rifle training, but I though I was fairly proficient with the basics (stance, grip, sight picture, trigger discipline, etc). It was an eye opener how much I can still improve and how much i learned.

* Dry fire! I practice with a pistol dry firing (because I know I suck with pistol) but I need to practice with a rifle as well.
* I need to hit the gym! Carrying my 11.5" SBR w/ KMR rail, scout white light and a 556SD for 8 hours my arms and shoulder were killing me.
* Learn a lot about my rifle, removing the BAD lever. Moving my sling points.
* Practice malfunctions more, it will happen when you don't expect it.
* Induce stress, because that will change what you expect. The 4/3/1 drill, I had everything planned in my head. When the shot timer went off, nothing went as planned.

I would definitely recommend the class to anyone that wants to improve their skill set. Kelly is a great instructor, he's VERY safe! Knows what he is teaching and can back it up by shooting. I look forward to future classes with Kelly. Like the two previous grads, I do plan on taking the PAR class again. I've already recruited a few more shooters from work.

[SamuraiCO]

Took this class last spring. Looking forward to next level of training from Kelly. His classes are highly recommended from all that have attended and his fees goes to a great cause supporting the shooting team at the Air Force Academy.

[asmo]

One of the things that I stress is the implementation of the new Army marksmanship doctrine (that I consulted on) which boils shooting diagnosis into two main categories; which are aiming and stability. Fundamentally, all shooting error can be traced back to flaws in one of these two areas. By learning the tell-tale signs of problems in one area or another, diagnosis and correction comes quickly and easily, even to the most novice shooter. Then by adding the matrix of speed vs accuracy vs distance, the shooters were able to quickly make accurate shot judgement calls based on those parameters and self-diagnose using the aiming/stability method.

Kelly thank you so much for putting this up. I wanted to attend the class but life had other plans. I am super interested in the "new" doctrine - specifically the stability aspect. Can you share any of the high points you learned (without giving away the farm) about maintaining a stable platform and sight picture. This is particular area of need for me so I am looking for all the input I can get.

[Great-Kazoo]

I was one of the attendees. Excellent class for a beginner or an experienced shooter. I have no formal rifle training, but I though I was fairly proficient with the basics (stance, grip, sight picture, trigger discipline, etc). It was an eye opener how much I can still improve and how much i learned.

* Dry fire! I practice with a pistol dry firing (because I know I suck with pistol) but I need to practice with a rifle as well.
* I need to hit the gym! Carrying my 11.5" SBR w/ KMR rail, scout white light and a 556SD for 8 hours my arms and shoulder were killing me.
* Learn a lot about my rifle, removing the BAD lever. Moving my sling points.
* Practice malfunctions more, it will happen when you don't expect it.
* Induce stress, because that will change what you expect. The 4/3/1 drill, I had everything planned in my head. When the shot timer went off, nothing went as planned.

I would definitely recommend the class to anyone that wants to improve their skill set. Kelly is a great instructor, he's VERY safe! Knows what he is teaching and can back it up by shooting. I look forward to future classes with Kelly. Like the two previous grads, I do plan on taking the PAR class again. I've already recruited a few more shooters from work.

IMO that BAD lever is one of the biggest mistakes one can put on their AR. ANYTIME i've been contacted about issues with their AR, once the issue was explained. I asked if they had a BAD lever, 100% were Yes.