Dumbass of the month

First let me say that I didn't attend this class so what I have learned about the incident below is second hand but from reliable sources. No matter how you shake it, it was a soup sandwich from the start. No name dropping here to protect the guilty. Time will sort his ass out soon enough I suspect.

There are a lot of phony firearms instructors out there looking to make a quick buck. Especially this post 9/11 era. Here's what happens when you have someone that nobody has vetted who happens to own some property and built himself a gun range. He brings in a couple of real instructors to host a class or two and then all of the sudden he's now running his own classes proclaiming to be former Army Ranger and or sniper instructor charging local folks half the cost of the named instructor's fee. He's running these folks through drills that oddly look very similar to the drills the Real instructor's put him through.

These named instructors that actually EARNED their creds while in the military or law enforcement for years and years deserve better than to be ripped off by jackasses like these guys. Not to mention the potential hazard to the students who, out of their own ignorance put themselves in harm's way by not checking out exactly who this "instructor" is and their background.

This particular guy has yet to be vetted here locally. We only have what he says. That he's from highly respected military unit. Until someone comes up with some tangible evidence that verifies that he is what he says he is. To me he's just like the tons of jackasses out there passing themselves off as former SEALS.

So, over the weekend this guy hosts a class where he's "instructing" an "Advanced" rifle program. What does our guy do? He tosses his rifle into the ground (mud actually) a couple of times. Because he saw another instructor have his students do the same thing. The foundation of why makes sense. A) If you're going to fight with the rifle it has to maintain it's "zero" even if it's dropped or banged into a hard object. B) If you aren't willing to drop your "safe queen" that says more about you and your commitment to that equipment. If you can't stand to see your blaster hit the dirt or get scratched why are you wanting to train to fight with it in the first place.

Here's the difference between someone who knows what the hell they are talking about and some jackass who thinks he knows what he's doing.

Real instructor asks students to throw their UNLOADED weapons in a safe manor. Then to retrieve their weapons and check them and prepair to continue with the training program.

Jackass "instructor" throws his weapon (loaded or unloaded, I don't know but from the mud on the magazine in the picture I suspect loaded). Not once but twice. He spikes the barrel into the mud at least filling the flash hider or muzzle break with mud. He then proceeds to fire the weapon into the berm and blows up his barrel. Apparently he doesn't stop. He continues to fire even after his rifle looks like a Elmer Fudd's gun after Bugs Bunny stuffs his finger in the barrel. He's damn lucky that the gun didn't blow up in his face or that his rifle didn't launch dangerous shrapnel in all directions.
Do yourself a favor. If you are looking to take firearms training of any kind. Check the credentials of the instructor. Don't take one based of your friend's or some internet forum dude's word that the instructor is "Good to Go". There are some real idiots out there passing themselves off to be something they are not. When it comes to real advanced firearms training. Know who the instructor is and more importantly be realistic about your own level of ability. Bad things can happen when people get in over their head and aren't man enough to admit it and step back or walk away. I've seen folks do that in classes they weren't prepared for or were wrongly admitted into and I have more respect for the ones that chose to sit out of a particularly difficult and taxing drill than I do for the few that were clearly in over their heads but didn't have the guts to admit it. It's not like we're training for badminton or table tennis. It's serious business and we all want to walk away at the end of the day.