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Illinois State Rifle Association
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CHAIRMAN'S NOTES
As the time approached for my third trip to Front Sight (a firearms training facility just outside of Las Vegas), the thought of shooting an M16 for four solid days was top on my mind. I was looking forward to another great opportunity to gain even more instruction on how to shoot quickly and accurately. I had been to Front Sight twice before and had taken the four-day defensive handgun course, along with the one-day course that allowed me to get a concealed carry permit that is recognized in most states (except, of course, Illinois). Though arriving at my motel late at night and being tired from a long day of work and traveling, I was still eager to start the course early the next day. Upon arriving at the facility, I was greeted by a professionally dressed employee, as is always the case at Front Sight. While checking in, I ran into someone that I met during the November course. We have kept in contact since then and have become friends. Interestingly enough, there were three others from my November class there as well. It seems like people just can’t get enough of the shooting classes there. The program officially began with all 400+ attendees in a classroom to hear a short lecture and receive a handout explaining how each class would be conducted. We then went to our designated ranges. Safety was stressed above everything, followed by introduction of the firearm and its proper usage. Our instructor explained that we would be taught to shoot on both semi-automatic and fully automatic modes, switching often depending on the distance from the target, in order to familiarize us with using the firearm to its full advantage. We started out at three meters, which seemed close, but there was “a method to their madness,” as the saying goes. We shot two shots in semi-auto and then were told to try for a single shot in full-auto, being told it is almost impossible to do. Everyone did at least a two shot burst and several did a burst of three or more shots. Even at that short distance, the third and fourth shot went…well…not exactly where they were supposed to go. The point they were trying to make was that, just because this firearm shoots automatically, it doesn’t always shoot accurately after the second shot. The more shots fired on full-auto, the more the tendency for the rounds to just rise up higher and usually to the right, thus decreasing the firearm’s accuracy. We did most of our full-auto shooting from 25m or less, doing two-shot bursts, and occasionally being instructed to do two rapid shots from semi-auto. All of the shots from greater than 25m, were done on semi-auto. The reason for this is that, at the greater distances, automatic fire is too inaccurate. Instead, two quick shots on semi-auto were shown to be much more accurate at the greater distances. That first day, we were allowed reasonable time to take our shots, but on the second and third days, the times were decreased. This was in preparation for us being ready for our timed test on the last day of the course. After receiving proper instruction, we practiced clearing the three types of malfunctions and were given the incredibly short time of 1.8 seconds to clear them. As with the pistol courses, it seemed (and was) impossible to do at first, but by the time we were tested on day four, it was a much easier task to complete. Day three, we had a night shoot, which was a lot of fun. We also had to practice clearing malfunctions at night, with no light at all to help us. It is amazing to learn what a person is capable of doing without any light available, just relying on touch. And, it was neat to see the flames coming out of all the guns. On the morning of the fourth day, we carried out our routines from 3m out to 100m in preparation for the test that afternoon. We then practiced full-auto shooting, starting with three-round bursts at 3m and increasing one shot at a time as long as the bullets stayed in the “body” of the target. At 3m, nearly everyone kept the bullets on target. At further distances, however, less and less bullets were kept on target. At 15m, nobody could keep more than three bullets on target, again showing that more than a two-shot burst can be just a waste of ammo. The instructor then had us do 6 two-shot bursts as quickly as we could. Amazing to us, these would always be on target and, again, confirmed his point. It is unlikely that I ever will have a chance to shoot an M16 again, unless I take another course, but it was a very fulfilling and knowledgeable experience and will definitely help me in any other shooting I do. While talking to a person in the class, I noticed he had a slight accent, so I asked him about it. He surprised me by saying he was from Berlin and explained that he had lived in Texas as a child for a few years, so he can pronounce almost all words in English without any noticeable accent. We got along very well and went to dinner each night, along with my other friend. “Marko” said his work as a business consultant takes him to the U.S. a couple of times a year. He had always wanted to try shooting, so he did a Google search and decided that Front Sight was the best facility to try. He took a handgun course and liked it so much that he now plans his trips around taking courses at Front Sight. He said that the lifestyle we lead with firearms is so completely different from that of people living in Germany. There, experiencing this type of training is impossible and even owning any type of firearm is extremely difficult for an ordinary citizen. My time with him made me realize that, even with all the problems we seem to have in the United States, it is the greatest country in the world. Let’s do our part to keep it that way and give complete support to people and legislators that want to keep it that way. Doug Mayhall ------
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