After Action Report - Sig Sauer Rifle 102

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I would like to provide a review of the following course at the Sig Sauer Academy.
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Rifle 102

Duration: 1 day / 8 hours

Overview


  • Rifle selection and support equipment review
  • Rifle Manipulation Skills
  • Marksmanship Fundamentals
  • Zeroing Procedures (Iron Sights and Red Dots)
  • Static Shooting Position Drills
  • Practical Application Drills
  • Cleaning and Maintenance



Notes

Estimated round count: 200 rounds.

Ammunition is available for purchase at the Epping, NH facility only.

**Steel cased ammunition and steel core bullets are NOT permitted to be used in Academy firearms**

Equipment List:


  • Rifle or carbine w/ sling (calibers supported: 5.56, 7.62NATO, 7.62x39)
  • 5 magazines minimum
  • Magazine Pouches
  • Footwear suitable for rapid movement and turning
  • Clothing suitable for training in any weather
  • Shooting Gloves
  • Knee and elbow pads
  • Wraparound eyewear, polycarbonate lenses or non-shattering prescription glasses
  • Earmuffs and earplugs



Tuition includes the following:


  • Course manual
  • Free loan of any needed equipment (pistols, rifles, holsters, safety equipment, etc.)
  • 20% discount on genuine SIG SAUER brand firearms, parts and accessories from the Academy Pro Shop purchased within 20 days of taking the course.
  • 20% discount on future course tuition if you register within 20 days of taking the course (Guest Instructor courses excluded)

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Equipment:
Bushmaster ACR Enhanced in Black
Eotech Red Dot
Eotech 3X Magnifer
Magpul Vertical Foregrip
Magpul Iron sights
Two Point sling

Bushmaster ACR Enhanced in Coyote (backup rifle)
Magpul angled foregrip

Sig Sauer P226 in two tone
Sig Sauer P226 in Black (backup handgun)
Blackhawk Drop Leg Holster for P226
Blackhawk 2" Belt
Blade tech dropped and offset holster for P226
Blade tech - single mag pouches X 4 for P226 mags
Blade Tech - double mag pouch for AR15 X 2
1 Point sling (in case I want to try something different)
Haley Strategic Chest rig
5 Mags for my ACR
5 Mags for my P226
Knee pads to go inside my 5.11 Tactical Pants
Hat
Under armor cold weather long sleeve shirt and pants
Oakley shooting gloves
Oakley Shooting glasses - Just Kidding - they sacrificed themselves when my 1911 exploded
Wiley X Shooting Glasses X 2
Electronic Hear protection + Foam ear protection

Overview (Before taking class):
So I think this class is going to be a little boring at first as they go over some really basic concepts (not to say that I dont need to hear them). I am hoping to fire a lot more than 200 rounds as they always call for the minimum since some people cant afford it and decide whether or not to take the class based on this. I will have a 420 round box of 62Gr federal .556 ammo with me. I am taking my P226 with me because I just don't feel right without having my sidearm with me at all times. I purchased a drop leg holster for this as I like the idea of it being out of the way but I am also bringing my USPSA rig with me in case I feel its just better. I bought a chest rig from Haley Strategic to see if I like it better than my belt rig, but I have blade-tech double AR15 mag holders X 2 in case I don't like the chest rig.

Weather:
Heavy rain in the morning with scattered showers / drizzle in the afternoon - 46 degrees Farenheit

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First Rifle Class
Sig Sauer Academy – Epping, NH
Rifle 102 – 1 Day
Round Count: 200
I attended this course with 2 friends, I shot a Bushmaster ACR in 556, my friends shot a FN Scar in 556 and my other friend borrowed an M400 in 556.

Review:
This class was held outside on a Saturday and it was raining and 45 degrees outside. We started this class with 1 instructor and 9 students. We started this course by going over the safety rules, how to use the medic pack, how to call for help and standard commands that would be used throughout the course. We also went through weapons, gear etc – 3 different types of red dots were passed around the class and we went over the details, we then did the same with flash lights, 1 point slings, 2 point slings, belt rigs etc. We started at 25 meters from the target and started to sight our rifles in, we then went to 50 meters once we were all on target and sighted all our rifles for 50 meters. We then went over the fact that we will shoot 2.5 inches low at 25 meters and 2.5” high at 100 meters. Our first real test was to draw and fire ~3 rounds center mask, this was a chance for the instructor to see what level the students were at and it gave us a chance to finally send some bullets down range. We then walked it back all the way to 100 meters. We then began a series of brief lectures with a demo and then we had a chance to repeat them. We started with the correct stance, then the correct way to hold the rifle, the correct way to perform a reload, the correct way to drop to both knees/one knee, prone, double feed malfunction drills, mag not seated malfunction drill. In almost every scenario we were presented with several options, given examples of benefits to each one, which ones are used by famous people or different groups (military, police, competitors), and given a chance to try them all and then choose for ourselves which one was the best. The instructor also gave some reasons why certain things came about, ex: when going down to one knee- keep your ankle/foot flat so if someone accidentally steps on your ankle, you are not seriously injured – which came out of the military. These lectures/demos took the bulk of the middle of the day before and after lunch. Once we all felt we knew how to stand/grip/fire/reload and deal with malfunctions – we were broken into two teams of 5 (my team was short one person so we had a person go twice) and given drills to perform. We started by setting up markers in a diamond shape about 8 feet apart and we ran to the left side first, fired two rounds on paper at 25 meters, then to the right side fired, front and fired, and then rear and fired and we repeated this action twice before running to the back of our team and the next member going. We were competing against the other team both in time and hits/misses. We were also required to place our rifle on safe while moving from point to point. This drill was crazy fun. We then repeated this drill but on steel, this time we were not allowed to move off a point until we registered both rounds on steel, called out by our spotter. This drill assumes 100% hit rate and as such was all about speed & time. My team won both matches and words were exchanged with our counterparts on the loosing team as would be expected. We then moved into how to shoot behind cover, stance changes when leaning out of cover as well as how to switch hands with a rifle or what chances when leaning out with a rifle on the left side for right handed shooters. We then ended the class with one final drill where we were all on a line at 25 meters, we had to fire our rifle 2 times within an 8” circle on our target when the timer beeped, last person to shoot each time was out and so was anyone that missed their target. We did this about 5 times at random distances. This drill is a lot of fun, however I do feel bad for the people that are either slow, have bad aim, or are slow and have bad aim.... I should mention that the instructor went over all kinds of information on the AR15 during breaks for reloading and of course as we were shooting. Overall, This class really surprised me, I was expecting a boring class with 200 rounds and half a day indoors listening to a bunch of safety/function info on the rifles available. Instead, we got to do all kinds of drills, learning a ton of good info and shot anywhere from 400-600 rounds. I shot 600 rounds, mainly due to my inability to stop shooting steel, I go into a steel frenzy and just cant help myself. Other students however fired approx 400 rounds.

Rifle Review:
The Bushmaster ACR shot 600 rounds without a single malfunction (well other than those I induced for training purposes). It was cold, it rained all day and we were in a sand pit. There was sand in my rifle, every magazine was covered in sand and my rifle still had zero issues. What a champion! I should also note, that it was extremely accurate, did not get hot (I was wearing gloves) and I was pleased to find that the weight and balance of this rifle was perfectly fine! I found that the ergonomics of this rifle allowed me to perform faster reloads and malfunction drills compared to my AR15 counterparts and everyone in the class asked about it.

Random Information
20 Rounds of American Eagle black tip varmit was provided for students at $9 per box of 20 rounds of 556 – I brought my own though
Rifle rentals are 100% free – however you have to purchase their ammo. They provide both the M400 (gas) and the 516 (Piston) rifles.
They also provide free rental of slings, magazines (for those of us that only have 10 rounders), mag pouches, hearing protection, eye protection etc.


Positives:
Instructor was very knowledgeable and friendly 17+ years experience, Army Ranger, Law Enforcement, DEA, all around great guy.
Instructor had opinions on equipment/firearms/gear
Instructor was very clear and disciplined with safety rules
Instructor spent time with all students helping us all improve
Instructor was fun and joked around
This class had several fun drills

Negatives:
I absolutely hate the Sig Sauer targets – utter garrrbaaaggeee

Final Rating
Course: 10/10
Instructor: 10/10

Video Clips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekg59kl8lhw

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Thanks for posting an AAR, not enough of those are posted on this forum. I've only taken three courses at Sig but have been always impressed by their cadre. Very positive can do plus it is a great facility.
 
Just read this, thanks OP. I'm taking Rifle 101 tomorrow, can't wait!

I hope to use the 20% discount to sign up for Rifle 102.
 
Nice review thanks for posting! Review is informative and well discussed. Video is private though cannot view it.
 
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