For those of you not familiar
with him, Marco Vorbiev is an ex Spetsnaz who served
in the Russian Afghan war as an SVD marksman. Last
year I took his class to get some formal training on
the SVD itself and to see what the class was all
about. I walked away with a very different mindset on
the SVD than I started with and learned a lot. This
year I decided to take the class again as a little bit
of a refresher and to see where I was at with some of
the things I had
learned. I was joined by Nictra and Auzie, two
of my good TX shooting buddies and we met up with C-4
from Arfcom. He turned out to be hilarious and fit
right in.
Like last year the class was
held in Sayre PA but not at the same range as before.
This year Voron from theakforum.net worked with a
local farmer and got us access to his land, we ended
up getting to shoot to 600m and had plenty of maneuver
room for the infantry stuff.
Marco's style is professional
and informative and he can dial his instruction up or
down based on the experience of the student. This year
we had 8 in the class, with a mix of LEO, ex military,
one active Army and a couple civilians. Everyone
learned something and I think everyone saw their
shooting improve, found things to work on and got a
better idea of how a DMR can be employed.
Day 1 consisted of meet and
greet/introductions, class overview, safety brief and
course content/overview. The first order of business
in the morning was confirming zero and getting gear
situated as needed, then it was run and gun all day
with a lot of infantry maneuvers as well as a full day
of live fire, which included shooting from the moving
'BMP' and movement to contact drills. As in my
previous AAR the intent of the class is not about
ultra precision - one shot one kill type
shooting...it's about getting the most out of a semi
automatic DMR rifle under multiple target dynamic
engagements. The drills were about speed and rapid
fire rather than pin point shooting, and were designed
to teach you to shoot with 'practical accuracy'. Of
notable mention is the concept of double tapping or
firing two shots back to back with a DMR, something
that until last year I had never really thought of
doing with a scoped rifle. With some practice it is
quite effective and is intended to be used on most
every target engaged unless maximum possible accuracy
is necessary.
One thing I like about how Marco
teaches is the common sense attitude of the
instruction...if you shoot too fast you will miss, so
the natural thing to do is dial your speed in to the
level where you can hit reliably during the double
tap. I think most of the shooters learned what their
sweet spot was and got 4-6 inch groups at 100 yards
while shooting high speed timed drills at multiple
targets, typically 8 targets/16 rounds in 24 seconds.
6 inches may not sound that great but again that is
plenty good enough to score center mass hits out to
300m and further while shooting pretty quickly. Auzie
really tore these drills up, on day 1 he shot some
honest 2 inch groups using ball ammo and his Tiger.
I've seen Tiger's do that from the bench but he had a
knack for doing it at high speed.
Last thing We did after sunset
was night fire with Marco's 1PN34 and 1PN58. I would
have brought my 1PN34 again like last year but I
accidentally pulled a wire from the AA battery mod and
didn't have time to fix it before I left for the
class. I think the guys who had never seen or really
shot with night vision got a big kick of using them,
they do work well despite appearing to be ancient 80's
era equipment. I know I really like my 1PN34.
Day 2 was building and proofing
a battle position, learning how to construct a
camouflaged snipers nest, how to create a range card
and then shoot, shoot, shoot all day long. 14 targets
ranged from 200m to 600m and we had to continually
engage random targets called out by Marco. We learned
a bit about estimating wind and how to compensate for
it, how to use hold overs and hold-unders to rapidly
engage targets instead of adjusting the turrets on the
optics. Again it was about practical speed and putting
down a volume of fire to quickly overwhelm the
engagement area targets. Another point to consider is
that on day 1 in particular every drill we ran
involved some level of physical exertion and was
intended to put us in uncomfortable shooting positions
with elevated heart rates. The intent was to show you
that under real conditions you won't have the luxury
of time and comfort to take the perfect shot, and that
you must learn to shoot well with whatever you have at
that moment. Good stuff IMO
We didn't get any snow
unfortunately, the week before the class PA was in the
40's and it all melted. We did get to roll around in
icy slush on day 1 but day 2 was colder and windier,
particularly in the afternoon. Overall I think the
weather was great and no one complained about the lack
of snow. I'll also say a good word for the Gorka
mountain suits we had, they worked like a charm.
Speaking of good words, a big
thanks must be given to Voron of theakforum.net.
Without him these classes would not be possible...he
works tirelessly all weekend to keep everything
moving, to help shooters get on target and to solve
the inevitable problems that crop up. His generosity
is amazing and he's good people. Thanks!
On to the pics:
Practicing the combat roll in preparation for the dismount from the moving BMP
And the BMP takes off
Field manuevers
Ex Marine, Auzie, Nictra and Zen in the rear, rest
of the squad is in the tree line ahead
Why did the Zen cross the road, you ask?
To get to the shooting on the other side of course
Live fire - movement to contact and engaging to the
right, targets 50-200m out. We did this in relays a
number of times.
This is one of my favorite parts of the class,
shooting from the moving 'BMP'. These pics are side
to side shooting, we also did moving forward and
backward again on a different part of the
road.
Day 2 on the battle position overlooking the
engagement area. There were 14 targets from 200m to
600m.
In this first picture there are 8 of us hidden at
the top of the position. We were close together for
practical purposes and to maximize safety, but it
goes to show what a little camo can do to hide a lot
of guys in a small area if need be. I'm on the left
of the photo for reference of the size of the BP
Showing my position without being under my
poncho
The engagement area, far edge of the treeline was
about 700m or so
View from next to the PSO turret
View through the PSO
Auzie and the Tiger
Izhmash MP spotter scope (up to 20x variable
magnification)
Auzie improving his position. We used hay for
efficiencies sake but would have taken the time to
use existing vegetation to match the position we
were in had it been for real.
I'd have to say the battle position shooting was my
favorite event overall. We shot further than last
year, had to deal with a 15-20mph wind with freezing
gusts while being under a poncho with foliage on top
and doing timed drills with random targets called by
Marco. Random targets from 200m to 600m across the
width of the engagement area isn't as simple as it
sounds, wind and hold overs change because of the
various distances and it's not the easiest thing to
do under pressure that's for sure. There was a lot
going on but I was happy with my results and during
the process I learned a few things about hold overs
and how to better use the PSO reticule at speed.
Once again the emphasis was on combat speed
shooting, not precision sniper shots.
Misc
Nictra with FAL
C-4 with his PSL
Marco showing how to do a transition with the DMR
J with Marco's SVDS. He used his own PSL in class
and Marco commented that he was the best PSL
marksman he had ever taught. Guy could definitely
hit with it, I was impressed.
C-4 with Marco's SVDS
My trusty NDM86
T and J, good guys. T was a police instructor and J
was someone who had taken a lot of classes. Both
squared away and I think they had a good time also.
Yes, some of J's gear was white. We were expecting
snow after all ;)
T's 308 AR
Auzie on the rampage in Gorka-R with his Tiger
Nictra with FAL in Gorka-E summer/green colored
mountain suit and me in Gorka-E autumn/brown colored
suit with NDM86. Can't say enough good about the
Gorka mountain suits...worth every freakin penny.
Perfect for the wet and cold conditions we were
in.
Gear details for anyone interested:
The uniforms that Auzie, Nictra and I wore were Gorka
mountain suits. These are produced by SPOSN in
Russia and designed for cold weather and mountain
use. They work...and they work extremely well. All
you need to do is wear the appropriate layers
underneither for warmth and the Gorka will keep you
dry and protect you from the wind. I wore only one
single base layer of thin smart wool and I was fine
all weekend, especially when moving. The two tone OD
colored one is Gorka-R, the greenish one is Gorka-E
Summer and the brown one I had on is Gorka-E Autumn
pattern.
For my chest rig I had AR15.com's Hawkeye (who owns
uwgearinc.com)
make me a new 10 mag SVD rig in the SURPAT pattern
and it completely rocked. I was extremely happy with
it and will be posting a separate
review once it gets shipped back to me. I
also used my old school LBE that I kept from my time
in the Army and it worked as good as always,
combined with the chest rig I had everything I
needed with me at all times.
Once again big thanks to Voron from theakforum.net
for putting the class on, like last year without him
there wouldn't have been a class in the first place.
Thanks V!
