MGM-USAMU Junior Camp

[Nemo]

Underway as soon as Francisco gets out of school today. See you all at the Holiday Inn Express tonight. Woohoo! I'll be smart tomorrow!

[High Lord Gomer]

I win! I win! I found Nemo!! I must have caught him as soon as he got here, though, because the Holiday Inn Express Smartness didn't seem to be in full effect, yet.

I also have had the pleasure of meeting Nick. He is every bit as personable and mature in person as online.

My impressions of Mike and Rhonda of MGM are, what we call in SC, "good people".

This is shaping up to be my best vacation in years!

[tgibson]

I win! I win! I found Nemo!! I must have caught him as soon as he got here, though, because the Holiday Inn Express Smartness didn't seem to be in full effect, yet.

I also have had the pleasure of meeting Nick. He is every bit as personable and mature in person as online.

My impressions of Mike and Rhonda of MGM are, what we call in SC, "good people".

This is shaping up to be my best vacation in years!

Me too!! It is really good getting to meet some of the BE'ers. I think everyone is having a really great time at the camp. Insturctors are doing a GREAT job!!! Yea...I'm wishing I was 12 By the way, I don't know if many of you non-3 gunners know of him or not, but Daniel Horner who is one of the instructors recently won Soldier of the Year. What a stand up guy. Congradulations Daniel!!

Adios,

TG

[Nemo]

I win! I win! I found Nemo!! I must have caught him as soon as he got here, though, because the Holiday Inn Express Smartness didn't seem to be in full effect, yet.

Very funny...

Just kidding, bro! This has been a great time! Gotta go get my coffee and get to the range.

Report coming soon.

[Nemo]

WOW! What an experience for both my son and me! He got to train with the BEST PRACTICAL SHOOTING TEAM IN THE WORLD and I got to be there to witness it! Oh, almost forgot... did I mention that I got to spend all of Saturday in a class with TGO? :D

To the Gibsons, the AMU and ALL THE SPONSORS:

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

God and finances allow it, we'll be there again next year.

Parents and juniors, PLEASE don't forget to thank the sponsors in writting and to also write to the Ft. Benning's post commander voicing your opinion on the camp. It's all in the red paper... Remember?

Again, Francisco and I had a great time and the learning experience was WORLD CLASS!! Any parent that missed out on this opportunity this year, I strongly recommend you take advantage of it next time.

I started a phot album in the gallery ( HERE ). If you have them, post your pix and vids there.

[Sue and Sarah]

We would also like to extend an initial THANK YOU to all involved in putting this tremendous event together.

The AMU bunch is the top-notch group of the kindest, most courteous and helpful young men you can come across. Hats off to the kids as well. I don't think we've run across a more polite gathering of kids.

TO THE AMU, THE GIBSONS AND ALL THE SPONSORS...THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

We certainly hope to return next year.

Sarah, Sue and Steve Irish

[Sue and Sarah]

Thank you Mr. Leatham, as well, for your hours spent with the kids. I know every parent is appreciative of your time and advise.

Steve and Sue (the 2 round gunners)

[Nick Weidhaas]

I can't even begin to express in words how wonderful an experience this was for my son and I. The camp/training was World Class. As Nemo said, any parent who did not have the opportunity to take their kid(s), I HIGHLY recommend it if offered next year. As the saying goes......."it just don't get any better than that." A huge thank you to the AMU Action Shooting Team, SFC Hampton, MGM Targets, Rob Leatham, and all the sponsors. You are all truely wonderful people.

Best,

Nick Weidhaas

[big_kahuna]

Nick and Lisa tell me it was incredible, good times and awesome people. I couldn't go due to work obligations, but sounds like I really missed out. They are flying home to Kalifornistan tonight, and should be posting for themselves soon.

I've been on the phone with them quite a bit, asking for reports of how things were going. I got the "Reader's Digest" version, and have to wait until they arrive to get the detailed info. But, they did mention a couple of things that really made an impression.

They tell me that the training, of course, was great... that was expected. However, the most powerful impression they take away was the high quality of the people they met... the kids, their parents, and of course the staff and facilitators (AMU, MGM, etc.). At the camp the kids were polite and disciplined... and their parents exemplified good character, decency and caring. The AMU staff was completely professional yet approachable, obviously technically competent but also really down to earth and friendly. Rob, she says, "was hilarious, and a really nice guy". "Just the nicest folks you've ever met, I was so impressed" she tells me.

Wow. These are the folks we want our kids around.

So, on behalf of Nick and Lisa, let me say THANK YOU to the AMU, Rob, the Gibsons, and the sponsors... and also to the kids and their parents for their involvement.

Kindest Regards,

Caesar Santiago

[BlakeM]

I just got back from the camp yesterday and I had a blast. The team was great, Mr. Leatham was great, and FT. Benning was so cool. I met Nick, Trevor, Adrian, Danny, Shane, Tori, Kelsey and a whole bunch of other really great lifelong friends!

Thanks so much to The Gibsons, The USAMU and USPSA for holding this camp. I will be writing all of the sponsors this week!

Blake Manning

[High Lord Gomer]

My impressions of Mike and Rhonda of MGM are, what we call in SC, "good people".

I was wrong, they are not good people...Mike, Rhonda, and Travis are GREAT people!

More details later once I get a chance to describe our experience and I get the 300+ pics up.

[CJDOUBLETAP]

This class was sweet. I learned lots of new drills and tips, met a bunch of new people too. I'll be setting the 20 alpha's drill and somthing similar to travis's movment drill.

Thank you MGM, remington, and all of the other sponsers for making it possible to put this thing on.

Craig T

[spankymac]

I agree with Nemo, this was an  outstanding experience.

Thanks to the AMU, MGM, TGO, and all of the sponsors 

Pictures and videos posted in the gallery

Banks

WOW! What an experience for both my son and me! He got to train with the BEST PRACTICAL SHOOTING TEAM IN THE WORLD and I got to be there to witness it! Oh, almost forgot... did I mention that I got to spend all of Saturday in a class with TGO?

To the Gibsons, the AMU and ALL THE SPONSORS:

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

God and finances allow it, we'll be there again next year.

Parents and juniors, PLEASE don't forget to thank the sponsors in writting and to also write to the Ft. Benning's post commander voicing your opinion on the camp. It's all in the red paper... Remember?

Again, Francisco and I had a great time and the learning experience was WORLD CLASS!! Any parent that missed out on this opportunity this year, I strongly recommend you take advantage of it next time.

I started a phot album in the gallery ( HERE ). If you have them, post your pix and vids there.

[chbrow10]

In keeping with the spirit of the forum, I'd like to share the notes I was able to take during the camp. If this is not allowed, or somehow breaks some law or rule, moderators please delete.

I wasn't able to catch every little skill that was taught to the kids, and I am sure that I got some things wrong. I have uploaded some sketches of some drills that were taught, both fom my memory and from my son's memory. As 9 year old memories are highly suspect, especially 3 days after the event, please correct if nessesary. I hope everyone can get the .pdf file. If there is a better way of sharing the sketches, let me know.

Okay, here goes. This is what I wrote down. My son is a D shooter, so I was following that group that started out in the far bay, the one farthest from the entrance to the range. I's be interested in hearing how the lessons differed with the other groups. When you comment, please be specific about what section you are commenting on. That way folks will be able to keep track of which section is which. I am sorry if the formatting is lost. Cut and past only gets us so far...

Chris Brown (Haydn's Dad)

Rob Leatham’s Class

• Sight alignment is overrated. Focus on what happens between the time your brain says it is time to fire the gun and when the bullet leaves the muzzle.

• Aim throughout the entire process, not just before you pull the trigger

• Make sure your knees are bent and you are leaning into the gun.

• Hold the gun as tight as you can without inducing a tremor. “…all I know is that this hand is holding on really, really tight, and the other hand is holding on really, really tight…”

On jerking the trigger:

• You must jerk when shooting fast. If you are aiming the entire time, and holding on tight, jerking the trigger won’t have a huge effect.

There are 4 movements in the trigger pull;

1. trigger slack take up

2. breaking the shot

3. pulling the trigger to over travel

4. Releasing the trigger forward, either to reset or all the way out.

Only #2 has an effect on accuracy, so you should speed up all but #2.

On the different types of trigger pulls:

There are roughly 3 types of trigger pulls

1. following the steps above from 1 all the way until 4, in one smooth motion (fast #1) or step 1, pause before step 2, then 3 and 4 (slow #1)

2. when performing step 4, only go to trigger reset and stop, aim, and go through steps 2 through 4, again, only to reset.

3. take as much time as needed to slowly go through 1 through 4, accuracy is everything, speed is unimportant.

Turns out, most of the time all you need is a good #1 and #2. #3 is rarely used, and Rob said that he almost never uses it. When looking at the targets, the group size between #2 and #3 trigger pulls were not all that different, and the slightly smaller #3 group probably didn’t merit the extra time in action shooting.

Now that we’ve all learned that, when do you use this information? Rob said that during his walk through of the stages, he is planning what trigger pull to use on each target. What pull you use depends on how hard the shot is (size/distance of target, presence of cover, etc.).

Regarding figuring out why you can’t shoot your gun straight.:

1. Blame the gun. You can use the process of elimination to eliminate potential causes.

2. Have someone else shoot the gun. If the groups still stink, it IS the gun, the ammo, or the sights. If not…

3. Have the gun owner hold and aim the gun while someone else pulls the trigger. The trigger puller may have to brace their hands under the gun, but try not to interfere too much with the owner’s normal grip. The owner holds and aim, and the instructor pulls the trigger. The instructor should feel for the owner’s hand to tense up or other signs of anticipation. The idea is that the owner has not idea when the shot will break. Ideally, the groups will improve, indicating that there is a trigger pull problem. Then...

4. Have the owner place their finger on the trigger, and the instructor pushes the owner’s trigger finger. Again, feeling for signs of anticipation of tensing.

The idea is that you are using the process of elimination to figure out where the problem is.

Lee Dimac and Daniel Horner’s Class

Armor-all glock mags to ensure drop free-ness. I think the drill was a type of Bill Drill. They talked about finger placement on the trigger.

Travis Tomasie’s Class (Movement between shooting boxes)

Q&A session:

• When running, keep the gun close to your body.

• When starting in a shooting box and moving to a port, always draw the gun first, your body will automatically start moving to the port. Get the gun out and be ready to shoot when you get to the port.

• When going prone, draw the gun. If you don’t it is hard to NOT break the rear 180 rule once you start to lean forward. Keep in it your strong hand, take you weak hand and put in on the ground, put weight on your weak hand and kick both feet out from under you. Place the butt of the gun on the ground (test this, some guns won’t run with upward pressure on the magazine) and push down on it. It will allow you faster follow ups.

• When scoring Comstock, the more targets there are in a stage, the more emphasis there should be on speed. Conversely, if there are less targets, spend more tim eon accuracy. Remember that Comstock is “points per second”

There are two kinds of exits from a shooting box. Hard and Easy. A Hard exit is when you have to finish shooting before you begin to exit. A hard target is like steel, or another hard shot. An easy target is a big or close target. You can begin your exit and still be shooting.

For an easy exit, begin your lean in the direction of movement while aiming/shooting. Aim throughout the entire process. The lean is key. You want to cross your feet while moving them so that your shoulders remain level while you are shooting. Drive out with the foot opposite the direction of movement. This is why we wear cleats, to drive out hard.

I missed the Hard Exit part…

During your walk through, plan your shots and figure out what kind of exit you’ll use.

Moving with the gun and not breaking the 180;

If you are right handed, and moving left to right, this is what Travis called “going with the grain”. Rotate the gun 90 degrees across your body, with the gun pointed downrange. If you are right handed, and moveing from right to left , hold the gun pointed down range, rotate it 90 degrees in you hand so that the top if the slide is facing the direction of movement. This will allow you to pump your hands/arms a bit better. Anytime you are not on the sights, you should be moving as fast as you can.

Entering a shooting box from left to right:

1. Place left foot just outside the box, pointed at the target. This will point you body in the right direction. I can see where hi-top cleats can help you not twist your ankle here.

2. place your right foot in the box and bring the gun up, gripping with both hands. At this point you could take the shot but your left foot isn’t in the box.

3. left your left foot up slightly and place it on the ground in the box, as soon as it is on the ground, take the shot.

KC Eusebio’s Class (Transitions between targets)

What I can remember:

• when using a surrender start, always have your elbows straight out, so you are not reaching back during the draw.

• Draw from the front mag pouch, always

• When transitioning between targets, don’t twist at the hips, keep your knees bent and drive with you legs. It is faster.

Max Michel’s class

Q&A session:

• De-emphasize the classifier

• shoot your game, not anyone else’s. Don’t let the presence of faster/better shooters in your squad influence how YOU shoot.

• During competitions, shoot at 90% of your game, holding back just a little

• During matches, push your self past 100%, so you know where the edge is.

• 3 or 4 shooters before it is your turn, take time to plan and prepare how you are going to shoot the stage.

• Let your sights be your speedometer

• If you have a jam/malfunction, don’t skip the target you were shooting on. Clear the jam and go back where you left off. Take extra time to get your shots (A’s preferably), since time is out the window, but you could still win on hit factor if you get your points.

• When doing a re-shoot keep the same focus as the first time through. Don’t relax. Keep the focus.

Shooting around barricades:

• While Standing:

o Keep both feet on the ground

o Lean around barricade

• While kneeling (Restricted?) and shooting under a barricade.

o One knee, lean forward, arms extended in usual grip.

o I suppose the being down on one knee allows you to pop back up quicker.

junior_camp_drill_diagrams.pdf

[little_kahuna]

In the wildest, most exotic form of the word: Awesome.

Truly a level of instruction and interaction that transcends the familiar.

Sincerely, Thank you! to everyone. It was a wonderful opportunity to learn from the best. I will definitely be back, utnil they tell me "i'm too old" I wonder if my "inner child" counts for age. lol

Thanks again everyone. I look forward to shooting with you all in the future.

-Nick Santiago

[Queen_Kahuna]

I, too, would like to extend a warm thank you to all who took time to make this camp a reality. Rhonda, you did an outstanding job! Putting events together is exhausting, I know, but no amount of words could ever express the gratitude we feel. Thank you and your team for giving this opportunity to our children.