AR Skills & Drills

411 Pages·2017·28.71 MB·English

by  Tiger McKee

AR-15
SKILLS
& DRILLS
Learn to Run Your AR Like a Pro
Tiger McKee
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CONTENTS
SPECIAL OFFERS
INTRODUCTION
1 SAFETY
2 PARTS & OPERATION OF THE AR
3 SLINGS
4 READY POSITIONS
5 CARRY MODES
6 STANCE
7 ADMINISTRATIVE MANIPULATIONS
8 FUNCTIONAL MANIPULATIONS
9 MARKSMANSHIP
10 TACTICAL USE OF YOUR EYES
11 FIRST SHOTS
12 ZEROING THE AR
13 TRAINING, PRACTICE & LEARNING
14 DEFENSE FUNDAMENTALS
15 TARGET ZONES
16 DATA BOOK
17 MOVING
18 FIRING POSITIONS
19 USING COVER
20 LOW-LIGHT CONDITIONS
21 TRANSITION TO HANDGUN
22 CLEANING
23 PRACTICE TOOLS
24 VESTS, CHEST RIGS & PACKS
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO MY WIFE, GRETCHEN, WHO HAS
PUT UP WITH A LOT OVER THE YEARS TO SUPPORT MY
TEACHING AND SHOOTRITE.
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INTRODUCTION
This book isn’t about the history and development of the AR-type weapon,
building an AR or performing modifications. There are plenty of good sources
for that information already out there. It’s also not a “tactical” book, although it
does include subjects like using cover, working in low-light conditions and the
fundamentals of responding to a threat. These are skills that you need, but
learning to apply them for defensive or combative purposes is beyond the scope
of this book.
AR-15 Skills & Drills is about the techniques you need to operate the AR
platform safely and efficiently, regardless of your application. Whether you’re
hunting, competing or using the AR for defensive purposes, the same skills are
used to manipulate the AR efficiently and shoot it accurately.
To learn anything takes practice, performing the same skills over and over
until eventually you learn them. We’ll discuss how to operate the AR so that you
know what to practice, but equally important how to practice, providing a solid
learning curve and the greatest return from your time and money invested. Some
sections of this book describe how to perform certain actions, while other
sections list specific drills that include applying the skills and techniques
discussed in previous chapters. There are a variety of ways to practice; the only
limit is your imagination. Just keep in mind that anything and everything you do
should be performed safely. Safety is your number one concern any time you’re
working with firearms.
This book is not intended to be a substitute for training under a qualified
instructor. Yes, one of the ways we learn is by reading and studying a subject. A
book can tell you how, why or when to perform a certain action. What it can’t
tell you are all the ways you can do it wrong or an alternative approach if a
technique doesn’t work for you, or watch to make sure your finger comes off the
trigger while reloading. Often you’ll be doing something wrong and you won’t
even be aware of it. Cultivating the correct skills is mandatory and this book will
help you with that, but eventually you need to attend training under a qualified
instructor.
Although this book focuses on the AR-type rifle and carbine, the same skills
apply to a variety of firearms. The safety or magazine release may be in a
different location, but the same techniques apply regardless of what type semi-
auto you’re working with.
Keep in mind that there are different ways to accomplish the same task, and
various schools of thought on how to operate the AR. This book presents a way
of doing things, but it isn’t an absolute or the only way. Your specific
application of the AR may call for different techniques or operating principles.
Becoming proficient with a firearm is an art; everyone’s artwork will be a little
different.
The AR is one of the best firearms ever produced. In the early days it
experienced some growing pains, but it has served our military faithfully for
decades now, with no end in sight. Today’s AR is reliable, simple to operate, and
accurate. There is a huge industry that supplies accessories for the AR, and its
modular design allows users to customize it to suit any purpose. You can do
almost anything with an AR. But first you need to know how to operate it safely
and efficiently. I hope this book helps with learning your AR.
A NOTE ABOUT VERBALIZING TO LEARN
Every technique we perform is a series of actions or steps chunked together
and applied in the correct sequence. To learn a technique, or to modify an
existing skill, the sequence is broken down into individual steps. You have to go
step by step, performing the proper sequence so you get predictable results from
your actions.
The problem is that our brain always wants to get ahead of the body; the mind