AAR: Mike Pannone Advanced Carbine, Tucson AZ 5-6 Feb 2011

I flew out to Arizona to take a 2-day Advanced Carbine class with Mike Pannone. The last class I took with Mike was in 2007 and was an SPR class. I've also taken Pat Rogers' EAG Carbine, Larry Vickers' AK class, and VTAC's Carbine 1.5. Mike has since been training a variety of state and federal agencies, and has a huge amount of training leadership experience with USMC and Army units such as the 82nd Airborne and AWG . When Mike was the program manager for the Air Marshal program's Seattle office shortly after 9/11, they had the highest shooting and PT scores in the country. I believe these credentials reflect on his ability to lead a class and instruct well and my desire to learn from him again. Mike possesses an Encyclopedia Brittanica level of knowledge of the AR platform, and you better take notes.

It is rare to find an instructor who combines knowledge WITH the ability to relay it. (why do you think our schools suck....) That's one thing I appreciated in Mike's presentation. He presents ideas confidently, because he has vetted them extensively, and is able to explain why he does things a certain way.

The class was a mix of law enforcement and civilian shooters, all of whom were squared away. There were a couple of ACOGs and variable power optics, but Aimpoints seemed to be the predominant optic. One very capable shooter brought a couple of SCARs, and good thing he did because one suffered a stuck case that wasn't readily fixable. Most were 16" guns, but there were few SBRs in the mix.

Drills were shot at anywhere from 100 yards prone to 3 yards moving. The Triple Threat drill (3 IPSC targets) was shot with 3 IDPA targets set at 5, 7.5, and 10 yards. That really requires you to understand your offset. One of the most important things about a good class is that it will show areas where you're naturally good, and areas where you need to improve. For me, prone at 100 and kneeling at 50 need the most work. Most shooters had no problem hitting a steel "A zone" plate at 50 yards in under 1.5 seconds, but when scores were being recorded it was a bit tougher. I believe that the fastest time was shot by a Phoenix-area SWAT operator in 0.97 seconds.

Mike is a big believer in simplifying. When you release your magazine, you shouldn't need to flip it outward. It should drop free on its own. You don't pull the charging handle (which Mike emphasized was the physically weakest link in the weapon's chain) to release the bolt. The weapon was designed with a bolt release. Using your thumb to release it is a gross motor skill.

Malfunctions clearance: like Larry Vickers' focus is on sight alignment and trigger control (REALLY important!), as this class pretty much had that down from the start, Mike focused a lot on malfunctions. He's not a believer in classifying them into Type I/II/III. I won't disclose the exact methodology, but if you can clear a complex malfunction should as a Bolt Override Double Feed (where a live round is wedged between the gas key and the front of the charging handle) with a blindfold on in 10 seconds without tools, I'd say you're doing better than most AR owners.

Dirt test: Mike had a BCM 14.5" carbine gas upper with a shot-out barrel. We went through 8 magazines, by burying the carbine in Tucson's lovely mix of very small rocks and fine dirt at each mag change. Before the fun started, Mike removed the BCG first and wiped off any residual lube. There was one mag that didn't cycle it well, but I cannot recall the manufacturer of the underpowered ammo.

Andrew from Vuurwapenblog.com was kind enough to attend and take lots of pictures and video. His high speed videos have been a big asset to the AR community.

I'd highly recommend this class for anyone who's serious about taking their marksmanship, knowledge and capabilities with the AR-15/M-16 to a high level.

I did have an opportunity to shoot Mike's Next Generation Arms X7 that he worked heavily on the development of. I have never shot an AR that had such neutral recoil. You can put rounds on target like you wouldn't believe, and its muzzle brake and flash hider doesn't sound like a howitzer when it goes off, unlike most brakes/comps.

Mike showing malfunctions clearance on a rifle that was talking back a bit.....

Thanks to Vuurwapenblog.....

Drills. Standing, kneeling, prone, inverted kneeling, weak side.....we covered them.