Advanced Defensive Rifle

In the upcoming June 2014 issue of SPECIAL WEAPONS FOR MILITARY & POLICE, author David Bahde travels to the Sig Sauer academy for some top-tier carbine training. Bahde writes, “Lately I’ve been drawn to the idea of a patrol rifle with a low- power optic. I wanted one rifle that worked as a true deployment platform yet could compete and even win at 3-Gun competitions. The Sig Sauer Academy’s Advanced Defensive Rifle class seemed a perfect test venue for the concept. Designed to ‘push students to the highest levels’ over two days, 1,000 rounds and a number of shooting conditions, the course will work the students and their equipment pretty hard.

“The first day of the Advanced Defensive Rifle course, we checked our rifles’ zeroes out to 50 yards. Most drills were geared towards using rifles in an urban environment, making this distance pretty normal. Once on target, we practiced reloading, clearing malfunctions and transitioning from our rifles to our pistols on both our strong and support sides. “The second day started with some interesting drills. The first was a variation of a Special Forces qualification. Fire 30 rounds as fast as you can, reload and fire one round—all into a 10-inch circle 10 yards away. Any shots outside the circle earn an immediate disqualification. An initial run time of 10 seconds proved the value of a smooth rifle and solid trigger.

“Next came shooting from both sides around barricades. This is why ambidextrous controls have become a favorite for me, and they proved themselves here. The last drill before the break involved transitions. We’d use our rifles on a paper target, then transition to our pistols and knock down steel plates on a rack until they were all down. The instructors encouraged smooth transitions and complete control while bringing our pistols backing into their holsters.”

For more information on the Sig Sauer Academy, visit: sigsaueracademy.com

To learn more, check out the upcoming June 2014 issue of SPECIAL WEAPONS FOR MILITARY & POLICE, available on newsstands and digitally May 13, 2014. To subscribe, go to https://www.tactical-life.com/subscribe/special-weapons-for-military-and-police/