AAR - Dynamic Shooting Systems Low Light Course - Council Bluffs, IA 7/2013

[R.Schoening]

Who: DSS - Dynamic Shooting Systems
What: Low Light to No Light Course
When: July 30, 2013 - 1900 to 2330.
Where: Council Bluffs, IA
Why: High probability of a fight in low light environments.

Dynamic Shooting Systems: A little about DSS, Dynamic Shooting Systems conducts firearms training courses primarily here in the Midwest and is operated by Shawn Claussen. Shawn served in the USMC in the 90's and has been "walking the beat" as a full time Police Officer for the past 15+ years. He is a locked on shooter and a knowledgeable and passionate instructor that is committed to helping students gain a better understanding of not only their firearms, but also the techniques required to "Win" the fight. The true value of having an instructor like Shawn instruct a course is that he understands what works, what doesn't and why because he has his flashlight out nightly and has been put in the position of having to manipulate a firearm and a flashlight many, many times...he made mention that over the past month alone he has used the flashlight and firearms techniques in the real world a 5 times!

Students: Civilians. A mix of skill levels present ranging from beginners with this being their first formal class, to advanced shooters with Mil/Combat Arms and LE/SWAT experience.

Course: This was my third night fire course so I came into this one with a "reasonable" amount of knowledge on night fire. I found the content introduced practical, relevant, easy to follow and organized...while there was a ton of information provided in the course, everything flowed smoothly and allowed the students to build on the techniques presented during low light and build on / experiment with as darkness approached...once we were consumed with total darkness it was "On".

Shawn encouraged everyone to try all of the flashlight manipulation techniques numerous times for familiarization and as the class progressed to stick with two that they were comfortable with for the rest of the night...this was done so that we could really, really, find the positives and negatives of the techniques that we felt worked best.

It was obvious that adding in the aspect of low light and complete darkness played tricks on guys, guns and gear. It's one thing to be able to manipulate your firearm in daylight with no stress, a complete other when you can't see anything. This alone was a valuable learning experience for guys in the class. If you aren't familiar with your gun, sights, slide release, holster, magazine pouch, magazine changes and malfunctions...it presents problems immediately in the dark! The familiarity, or lack thereof with flashlights was also very evident as daylight faded.

Instructor: Shawn introduced and discussed a variety of topics and techniques and demonstrated them to the standard throughout the course . An ample amount of "hands on" time was allotted for us to fumble our way through some things we had and had not seen before...Shawn welcomed our questions, comments and concerns, and treated all of the students with respect and professionalism. He made spot corrections as he needed to, but did not repeatedly "hound" a student if they continued with their "normal" choice/action of handgun/flashlight manipulation. All in all, this was an excellent course and well worth the time, money and energy required to attend...this should be one that we hit annually!

Below is an overview of the topics presented AND practiced throughout the Course:

DSS Philosophy:
• Principle Based vs. Scenario Based
• SNS Activation and Action vs. Reaction

Realities of Deadly Force Engagements - Worst Case Scenario Planning:
• 2006 NIBRS Data
• FBI: In the line of Fire
• FSRC: Biomechanics of Lethal Encounter: Suspect Actions
• NYPD: 2010 Firearms Discharge
• Armed: Kleck and Kates

DSS Training Methodology:
• 4 M’s

Low to No Light Statistics:
• US DOJ
• PPSC
• Baltimore County, MD
• LA County Sheriffs

Low to No Light Necessities:
• Navigation
• Identification
• Visual reference of muzzle
• Position Sul

Lights:
• LED vs. Incandescent
• Switching Options
• Lumen Output
• Tritium vs. Non-Tritium Sights
• Weapon Mounted Lights vs. Handheld Lights

Techniques:
• Navigation
• Location
• Identification
• Engagement - WITH and WITHOUT barricades.

Light usage/activation:
• Ayoob
• Chapman
• Over-Under
• MSGBN Tech
• FBI
• Harries
• Neck Index
• Rogers/Surefire

[R.Schoening]

[DCPrecisionLLC]

I attended this course and would definitely say that it was worth the time and money. How often do we ever get to train at night? Probably never unless you are military or law enforcement or have your own property somewhere out of town. A statistic that was thrown out in class put it in perspective. Of all use of deadly force engagements, about 77% happen during the hours of low to no light. And like Rob stated in his review, you really see the guys that are and aren't intimately familiar with their weapons because of soon as darkness falls the ones who aren't start fumbling.

I recommend taking a DSS course if you have the time and resources available to do so. If nothing else you will get to have some fun shooting and hang out with a great bunch of guys.

[camus]

Nice write up, if they had a carbine version I would be first in line.

[DCPrecisionLLC]

I've been planning on putting together a low-light carbine course for quite some time now. It will be easier to do now that we are heading back into winter and it will be getting dark earlier. Summer time calls for a serious time commitment when it doesn't even get dark until 10:00pm. I will post it up here on the boards once that course is available.

[Lorimor]

I would had loved to have attended this class but since it was held on a "school night" and I would have been up late, chances are I would have been very cranky the next day due to lack of sleep. 

Had it been held on a Friday or Saturday night...  me and the tricked out Gladius would have been there.

(And it's less likely the job would have gotten in the way.) 

Thanks for the AAR.