Redback One/Jason Falla
2 Day Basic Carbine
Sept. 20-21, 2010
Long Island, NY
Thanks to Jason Falla and VA_Dinger and Sarah B. of Grey Group for bringing world class firearms instruction to Long Island.
Jason Falla engaging targets
As most of the students commented, trying to attend quality training without having to drive 4 hours each way is almost unheard of. That the class was completely full shows that there is a demand for this type of training in the area. All the students were from the local area with a few exceptions from New Jersey and Westchester. Students were mostly civilians with about a quarter of the class being LEO’s. A few had attended training with other instructors but for most of the students this was their first formal training.
Jason Falla’s bio can be found on the Redback One website: www.redbackone.com
Jason Falla addressing class on the range
1st half of TD1 was all classroom. He introduced himself and his AI (Big Tony- a longtime NYPD Detective) as did a quick poll to try and gauge the experience level of the class.
We talked briefly about the range and the local gun law, both of which create challenges for this type of training but Jason was confident we could work around it as he had recently completed a course in California where the students faced similar issues.
He discussed how the fundamentals of shooting apply to combat marksmanship and the 3 elements to accuracy.
Other areas of discussion were:
Safety- Individual and Collective Safety
Cycle of Operation of the AR family of weapons and how they relate to clearing malfunctions
Stripping, cleaning and re-assembly of the AR- many (but not all) of the students were familiar but Jason stated that for a basic carbine class it is important to cover it.
Brief discussion of mindset and how it differs from some of our enemies overseas. Key point is to “train to win rather than train to survive”
Conscious vs. subconscious
Different ready positions:
- Alert Ready
- Low Ready
- High Ready
- High Port
Recoil management based on support hand grip of the carbine and body positioning. Jason teaches a squared up stance with the support arm elbow parallel to the ground.
Jason Falla demonstrating support arm position
Zeroing is usually one of the slowest parts of a shooting course and this was particularly true given that we had 21 shooters and a range that was set up more for target rather than “tactical” shooting. Jason had us (trying) to shoot 1” groups at 25 yds to start. If your gun is a 2 moa and your ammo is 2 moa then you should have a 4 moa group at 100 yd.
He prefers a 200m zero so it should be 1” groups that are low at 25, 2 inch groups POA/POI at 50 and 4” groups about 2” high at 100 yards.
Jason Falla helping a student zero his ACR; note Aimpoint is too forward and rear MBUS is too far back
We also shot dot drills using one of the 4 different Redback One targets that Jason designed. What this allows is to have big circles (7”) as well as smaller circles (2”?) on the same target so drills can be done with what he calls “low percentage” and “high percentage” shots. A high percentage shot is one that’s easier to make and requires more speed than accuracy while a low percentage shot can be anything that requires the shooter to slow down to apply all the shooting fundamentals such as a small target or moving target.
Jason Falla explains zeroing target to class
We went over transitions to the pistol as well as coming back up on to the carbine as part of the post engagement sequence. For those shooters who didn’t bring pistols Jason had them doing combat reloads instead.
Jason also briefly discussed gear selection and placement, all the kit you have should be working for you and not against you. He uses a single point sling since it lets him run the gun more efficiently. There is no perfect sling and every system, whether single or two point is a “weigh off”. A good sling is one that lets the weapon hang flat against your body when you let go of it, a bad sling is any sling that prevents you from running the gun…
Jason times student on a drill, note SBR with FSB mounted light
Timed drills were introduced as Jason has seen many shooters fall apart on their fundamentals as soon as the buzzer was used. As a shooter its important because it gives you a way to measure your capabilities. We shot as a group as well as individually while Jason came around to observe and critique you. We did rhythm/bill drills with 1 sec, .5 sec and .25 sec splits. This gives you an idea of your limits, shoot and be 100% accurate, then shoot and be 100% fast and then dial the speed back so you can get 100% accuracy as fast as you can, you’re not competing against the other shooters on the line- you’re competing against yourself.
We covered malfunctions and post engagement sequences with scan and assess.
Jason Falla demonstrates clearing bolt override malfunction
Multiple target engagement and pivots and turns with Jason’s unique shooting stance which uses the hips to drive the upper body to the target.
We also did a little bit of shooting on the move which Jason explains is more of an indoor technique, if outside you’ll most likely move to cover unless a target presents itself while you’re moving.
Jason Falla and AI watch as students shoot on the move
Last drill of the day is a 60 rd/300 pt shooting assessment, par score is 250 which a few shooters managed to achieve.
We wrapped up class and handed out certificates- hopefully Redback One/Jason Falla will be coming back to the area on a regular basis as there is most definitely a demand for this type of training and for those who can’t make the time to travel to NC or Ohio this is a great opportunity. Jason stated in the beginning of the class that 2 day classes are much more difficult than a 4 or 5 day class because there’s so much info to try and put out and so little time to do it.
NJ EMT-P fires on targets
Only bad parts of the course was that the range is not set up for tactical shooting but Jason and the AI spoke to the range manager about what things they can do to improve, not just for classes but for their normal clientele. During the course we fired on 3 different ranges, part of it was there was no local POC who could do a site survey so this was part of the learning curve and Jason was able to adjust as necessary.
There were several weapons that had “stoppages” which could be traced back to magazines (C-products), ammo- or at least ammo/gun combinations (steel cased ammo in stainless barrel) or user error (riding the charging handle forward).
We had one Magpul sling that spontaneously broke apart at the clasp, cause unknown. An Eotech that fell off, when the AI directed the shooter to switch to irons he noticed that the rear sight was wobbling, loctite is your friend! Another shooter showed up with a castle nut on backwards after installing the receiver extension at home.
Castle nut installed backwards on student gun
Almost the entire class had AR’s with one each of the ACR, SOCOM 16 and AK. I was running a PWS upper, another shooter had a POF16 and I believe there was one LWRC piston AR. Of the 3 the only one that had issues was the POF, although that could’ve been the magazines or operator error for some of those stoppages.
Shooter with SOCOM 16
I learned a lot despite it being labeled a “basic carbine” course and Jason Falla is a true professional who brings a lot to the table with his unique background. I look forward to training with him again in the future.
Tags: AR training, Australian SAS, Blackwater, Carbine training, Combat Weapons Training, Commando, Grey Group, GreyGroup, GreyGroupTraining, Jason Falla, M4 training, Redback One, SASR