Timing is everything.

It was a sunny, calm, 48-degree day in South Central PA today and I had the day off so I headed to my local shooting club. I had planned to practice some barricade shooting today with my carbine, but when I arrived at the desired range there were already 4-5 men shooting what looked like a coordinated practice session. So I went over to the pistol range for a while and shot my 22 revolver to warm up then transitioned to my G19 and drawing from concealment on 6” steel targets at 20 yards.

About 200 rounds later I went back over to the 50-yard rifle range that had some VTAC barricades which was now free. I set up a target, donned my range belt, and started to warm up with a few 10- and 20-yard drills practicing offsets and safety manipulation. Then I dragged one of the barricades back to the 35-yard line or so to practice barricade shooting. Things were going well for about 100 rounds.

After a while a gentleman in a sedan drove up and asked if I was using the whole range or if we could share it. I said of course, it’s nice to have a buddy on the range. Once he stepped out, I recognized him even with his dark glasses on. It was Tom Alibrando, head of training at IWI USA. Feel free to look up his background. I had seen him once or twice at the range in the past, but had never spoken to him. As he was unloading his trunk and getting set, he was watching me shoot for a while and then graciously offered some instruction.

He suggested and demonstrated with my carbine how to square up my body more which would result in a steadier muzzle when aligning the shot and better recoil management. He also demonstrated a better technique for transitioning from position to position by driving the muzzle straight into the hole or ledge instead of drifting/angling the carbine. He stressed the importance of quickly getting your head in position on the stock immediately after driving the gun to improve speed to the first shot. He was professional, and it was like being a student in one of his classes for a brief amount of time.

He then gave me one of his own B8 targets to setup and test his suggestions. They worked. I shot from various positions, including prone for about 50 more rounds and all but 2 were in the black. He was very easy to talk with and provided instruction that was easy to understand. We shared the range for a while until I used all the 5.56 I had brought. He was shooting an IWI Masada Tactical with a red dot from a belt holster at various distances.

As I was starting to pack up my stuff, he asked if I'd do him a favor. I said of course. He asked if I'd be willing to video him presenting and demonstrating a pistol drill from Kyle Defoor, with whom he’d worked in the past. It was the Defoor Proformance Shooting Pistol Test 3, I believe. I used his cell phone to video him speaking and shooting it. The video turned out well, and we talked a bit more. I could have hung around a while longer talking and learning, but I figured I’d step away and let him continue his planned range session.

Anyway, I just thought I’d share my pretty cool experience at the range today. You can tell that a good teacher enjoys teaching a willing student. It was enlightening and a pleasure, and I hope to see him the range again sometime.

Chris

That's awesome! Nice to have an opportunity to learn and try some new stuff from a knowledgeable instructor...and even better when it's free !

That’s pretty sweet and absolutely a great day at the range.

I’m fairly local to you and have a feeling I know which range you’re talking about. May shoot you a email on it as I need to get a membership somewhere as I let mine lapse at my previous club.