Originally appeared on The Tactical Hermit. I’ve got a Fighting Kalashnikov Course coming up in January. Come out and train! -NCS
Been hitting the range lately and wanted to drop a few notes.
This is a guideline. Find what works for you and build your own list.
1. Learning to control the weapon is key. Forget in front of the magazine hold (as seen above) Adapt a full front hand guard grip with a torqueing or twisting motion. Adapt a stance that spreads the recoil evenly.
2. On Reloads, forget retaining empty mags. Underneath charging is the most efficient but work with all of them. The environment, or better yet, how disruptive the environment is, will determine that.
3. Using fresh mags to work the mag release lever can deform mags over time, using your thumb in the same manner will work if you drill on it.
4. If using a Red Dot on your gun, work on “Snapping the Dot”, or learning how/when/where your gun settles (and thusly your optic settles) after the shot is broke. Learn how tension in your core muscle groups effects this as well.
5. “Work out” your red dot to 300 yds. Know hold overs for your load type and gun.
As a sidebar, make sure your irons are on at this range too so in a pinch you can fall back to them.
6. Drill on Clearing Malfunctions while on move.
Failure to Fire, Failure to Extract, Failure to Feed. If it cannot be fixed quickly, find cover and fix it. If situation does not allow, transition to pistol, eliminate threat, then fix it.
