Kyle Lamb of
Viking Tactics conducted a two day Carbine 1.5 class on May 24-25, 2008 in Linden, NC. The VTAC Carbine 1.5 class is not an introductory course and is designed to take the basic shooter to the next level. Kyle Lamb, who is the primary instructor for Viking Tactics, has an extensive background in military special operations and brings a wealth of combat experience to the table. Kyle has a very low key style of teaching which I enjoyed.
The class of 14 students met at the range at 8:00 a.m. on the first day. The class consisted of 1 Army Special Forces Soldier, 2 FBI agents, 1 private contractor, 2 North Carolina LEO’s, 1 fireman and the rest of the class consisted of civilians.
Kyle started the class by introducing himself and allowing the students to do the same. After introductions we had a semi-formal class on ballistics and safety. After completing the ballistics class we moved into weapons zeroing. Once the zeroing was completed we started several drills that began at the hundred and worked forward to the target. These drills focused on accuracy and distance. After completing several runs of these accuracy and distance drills we moved closer to the targets to get more work on accuracy and speed. These drills consisted of single and multiple target engagements.
During the multiple target engagement drills malfunctions started occurring at an alarming rate. The malfunctions were caused by different problems, from not enough lube, bad remanufactured ammo (which plagued the shooter for the entire class), bad/aged extractors, a broken extractor spring, 2 broken firing pin retaining pins, bad magazines and Wolf Ammo. These issues plagued shooters over the two days until the last drills of the second day. I have attended several carbine classes over the years and I have never seen so many malfunctions in one class. The malfunctions became so rampant that Kyle moved straight into the malfunctions portion of the class a lot earlier than he wanted to. This consisted of setting up malfunctions so the class could see the malfunction and then Kyle would demonstrate to the class on how to clear the malfunction. Afterwards, with our weapons lying on the firing line in groups of three, he set up a different malfunction in each weapon. A shooter would have to run to the firing line, attempt to fire the weapon, clear the malfunction and then fire the weapon.
On the second day we mainly shot from the 100 yard line. While at the 100 yard line we worked on different and unconventional shooting positions. Also we worked around barricades at the 100 yard line. As you can see in the photos, the barricades that Kyle uses make you get into very different and contorted positions. I liked this part of the class because it pushed the shooter to make the shots while in some uncomfortable and awkward positions.
Weather: It rained on and off Saturday morning. At times the rain was pretty heavy; however, we did not slow up due to the weather. The weather was beautiful after lunch on Saturday after the rain and clouds broke.
Equipment:
For this class I ran a S&W M&P15 that had been converted to an “A” model. Thanks goes out to Steve Lowitz and Bryan James of S&W for their help at the last minute with a few things. My optic was an Aimpoint M4S on a LaRue mount. I also have a Surefire Forend light on this rifle. I ran a made in the USA VTAC Sling. I own four of these now that are on four different rifles. I really like it and I learned how to use it to its full potential. For lube I used SLIP 200 EWL which I might add is good stuff. I put about 1200 rounds or so down range without a single malfunction. For my secondary weapon I used a G17 with Heinie Slant Pro 3D Night Sights. I used mostly PMAGS with some aluminum mags as well. My ammo was Federal American Eagle 55 grain FMJ.
I used a molle belt to bring mags, dump pouch and secondary weapon to the line. We were only asked to bring four full mags to the line at a time. I had over 25 mags already loaded at the beginning of each day so I was good to go until lunch. This allowed me to socialize with other shooters and watch the other relay so I could learn something from them as well.
Again I really enjoyed Kyle’s teaching style, as he is a no nonsense type of guy. During this class he pushed us to make fast accurate shots which pushed most shooters out of their comfort zones.
If you have never trained with VTAC then what are you waiting for? If you ever have the opportunity to train with Kyle I would highly recommend it. Overall, I really enjoyed this class and I will be attending more VTAC classes as funding, scheduling and my wife allows.
Some pictures from the class.
A picture of one of three major problems a shooter had with a bad lot of remanufactured ammo.
A picture of another problem, after it was removed from the chamber, the same shooter had with the same bad lot of ammo.
Kyle explaining th proper grip on a mag when reloading.
The other Jeff getting some under the watchful eye of Kyle. Notice the blast from the Surefire Muzzle Brake.
One of several bad dudes in the class working the rifle.
Another bad dude working to clear a rifle during the malfunction drills Kyle setup.
Shooting during lateral movement.
Jack trying to clear a rifle during a malfunction drill. Thanks Jack for setting up this class. Also from what Kyle left you in that rifle I can see he was showing you some love.
Kyle demonstrating how to use the mag to clear a malfunction if you only have one hand to use.
Linear Mode
