ALIVE! Gunfighting®: AK Rifle Primer BERTRAM April 25, 2015
By Steve Miles
This past weekend I once again had the privilege of presenting the "AK Rifle Primer" at a superb private range in Bertram, TX. This class is designed for people who want to learn how to run their AKs in the context of a close-range, frequently reactive, gunfight. As such it's ideal for civilians or solo LEOs, but there's plenty of good material to be gleaned by team operator types as well.
The class has two main training goals:
First, students will become smarter than the average Soviet bear regarding the AK. Unusually for an ALIVE! Gunfighting event, the class begins with lecture discussing how the AK functions, it's design, controls, and sights. Students then zero their rifles at 25m using an offset that very closely replicates a standard 100m zero.
Later in the day students learn about, handle, and shoot all the major AK variants to include AK-47, AKS, AKM, AKMS, AK-74, AKS-74, AKS-74U and others.
During this process students have the opportunity to shoot all the other students' rifles as well. This included some full-auto rifles generously provided by the range owner.
The second main goal is for students to learn the basics of close-range gunfighting with rifles, empasizing speed, accuracy AND mobility. This included magazine changes, malfunction clearance, and other gunhandling, as well as side transitions, and vertical displacement skills. Students learn the fundamentals of managing and imposing pressure in a gunfight. Airsoft "corrections" were administered when students made tactical errors such as remaining stationary and exposed when changing mags or clearing malfunctions. This training forces students to think and function in terms of what will keep them alive in a gunfight, not necessarily what will give them the best scores in a 3-Gun match.
As happens in every class, students begin skeptical of their ability to get hits while running, but after detailed instruction and coaching they are all able to achieve it.
This final drill really opens students eyes to what is possible when one is willing to go beyond "lowest common denominator" training.
Later this year we will conduct another "AK Alumni Course". There we will build on the basics presented in the primer and explore AK-to-pistol transitions, cornering, 360 degree engagements, and more all in the context of the two-way gunfight using both airsoft and live fire. Stay tuned!
To learn more about ALIVE!™ Combatives and ALIVE! Gunfighting® contact the author Steve Miles via email to steve@combativestraininggroup.com
Copyright© 2015 Alive Technology Inc.
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