CCA is located down in Baxter, Iowa. It's run buy a master gunsmith who builds superb AR-15 rifles, large frame AR rifles, precision bolt guns, submachine guns, and pistols. Several times per year, he hires two Des Moines area SWAT officers to teach pistol, shotgun, carbine, and unarmed training courses to the public. CCA also brings in other instructors, like Team Blaster, who will be teaching a precision rifle course out to 500 yards this October.
The basic rifle course is a one day event, usually on Saturday's or Sunday's. The course started at 8am, we took an hour for lunch along with a couple additional 15 minute breaks, and finished up at around 6pm. Romp, our instructor, started the day with a discussion about how the AR-15 operates, common issues he sees with student's guns and marksmanship ability, and how to properly maintain our rifles. Romp is a seasoned deputy who is in charge of his agency's rifle training program. Not only does he train his officers on a regular basis, but he trains personally on his own dime and time as well. He understands that there is no "end" to training. Even at his level, with over one million rounds down rifles over the course of his career, he is still a student.
Most of the course was shot from 25 yards, from prone, seated, kneeling, and standing. Romp is a proponent of two point slings because we can use them to create a fifth point of contact with the rifle (right hand, left hand, shoulder, cheek weld, and sling). For all firing positions, we wrapped our support arm through the sling to create tension on the rifle. Romp also emphasized the importance of finding our natural point of aim for all firing positions. He would have us aim in on the target, then close our eyes and wiggle the rifle left and right, then aim back at where we think the target is, and finally open our eyes again. If we weren't on target, he'd have us slightly shift our body position and do it again until we had it right.
I have an Aimpoint on my rifle, but I shot the entire course with it turned off. Romp created a really neat paper target which has an outline of what our front sight post looks like when we're aiming our rifle, and the entire target is covered in a grid which makes adjusting our zero very simple. Even shooting out to 100 yards with iron sights is perfectly feasible. I know soldiers and Marines do it out to 500 yards or something like that; I don't know how they do it but I'm glad they can.
As would be expected, firing from prone is the most stable shooting position. But, getting that low is a luxury that time and/or terrain may prohibit. Seated shooting is pretty stable, and is pretty quick and easy to get down into from standing. Kneeling is a little less stable than seated, and shooting while standing is downright difficult, but Romp took it slow and gave each of us pointers on breathing and our body positions throughout the day.
We fired between 300 and 400 rounds, and although most of it was from 25 yards, we shot enough from 50 and 100 yards to understand our zeros and gain confidence in our shooting ability. I came away from the class with an enhanced confidence in my ability to use iron sights beyond close quarters distances. Romp said getting good at anything difficult requires a lot of hard work. Shooting a rifle without a bipod or scope, while standing at 100 yards, is difficult for me. But, with practice and diligence, I, or anyone, can get good at it.
As a final bonus, I was able to take the class with a good friend. The other four students were a father and son, and a husband and wife. No matter what type of training it is, it's always more fun if you're there with someone you care about, because you can challenge each other, make silly bets, and talk honestly with each other about what you each took away from the course. Whenever possible, try to take these types of courses with a friend or loved one. They're memories that won't soon be forgotten.
CCA has another basic rifle course coming up in August, and their more advanced two-day tactical rifle class is coming up in November. My friend and I are going to try to make the November class, and if you need some rifle training, I welcome you to join us.
Addendum: I've written AAR's and posted them here in the reviews section for CCA, John Farnam, and Southnarc. I'm not affiliated with any of them. I just want to share my experience about the class with others who like to train.
