This review has been sometime in putting together. Sorry to all for the delay.

In August, I attended a class instructed by Jim Crews for his Urban Cabine Course. The class was 3.5 days long and Jim promised all who attended a comprehensive course that was informative, practical and fun. True to his word, the course was excellent and everyone in the class came away with more knowledge, skill and confidence in their ability to use their carbine effectively.

As some of you know, I live in Canada. The course was held in Montana. This brought up some problems, but I managed to get all the necessary paperwork to cross into the USA with my "M4" AR15. After unpacking my gear into the motel I arranged accomodations in, I met Jim outside his room. After asking if he was Mr. Crews, he said, "Yes, and call me Jim." Jim is very personable and friendly and we talked about the course, our backgrounds and I was lucky enough to see some of the equipment Jim brought out. "Janko", the organizer for the class, arrived and we discussed various topics from self defence to entertainment.

The following day, The three of us went to a local restaurant for breakfast and discussed what the day would entail. Then it was to the range and getting our gear together and meeting the other classmates. The "Logan Range" is operated by the Manhattan Wildlife Association just outside of Bozeman MT. Our Hosts were the "Gallatin Action Shooters", a member Division of the Manhattan Wildlife Association. Jim set up his equipment on the range and the students mingled and got to know each other. Only 6 students were able to make it for the class. I met Steve, Gene, Nick, and Scott at the range and of course there was Dave "Janko" and myself. As we unpacked our gear, we all noticed that we were using the AR15 as our carbine. Jim stated that this was a good choice, but his course was suitable for other carbines as well. Anything from the SKS to M1 Carbine. The weather was great with a clear sky and an expected temperature close to 30C. Jim gathered the students together and asked if anyone had formal training with the M16/AR15 weapons system. A few of us had (I was not included). Jim then assured us that we all would be a lot more knowledgeable and proficient with a carbine.

With that, he asked us to dress up a line and face the targets with empty weapons. Jim reviewed the basic functioning of the AR15 and made sure that we knew our safety rules. We then moved onto the use the sling for the Carbine. Jim demonstrated the several different methods for carrying a carbine on a sling and went onto state why he preffered the African Carry. Also emphasized was the fact that a long gun should have a sling as it is useless when it is not with you and laying against a fence somewhere when you need it. A considerable amount of time was spent on coming to ready from the sling position. Students were able to go from the sling to mounting the weapon within 2 seconds by the end of the session. From the Ready Position, we practiced mounting the rifle from Low Ready, Indoor Ready, and High Ready.

Jim then went over the various carry modes for a weapon before moving onto having us fire live rounds. Students learned rifle readiness modes which included Contact Ready, Transport Ready and Weapon Safe. Through a very effective PA system that Jim used, we were all able to hear him well for live shooting. We learned how to load and check the readiness of our carbine while in the covering position. Students intitally fired one round from the slinged postion onto the target. This drill was practiced until we were all able to make a shot onto the target within 1.5 seconds. Targets were of humanoid configuration and had a camoflage pattern that create an optical illusion so that the shooter to shoot a little off center. Of note, the carbines were not zeroed in yet.

During this session, Jim had us shoot with our handguns at the target and corrected our bad habits as best he could. A bonus for the students taking part in the course!

Then it was back to training with the Carbine. He had us hold our carbines out at arms length for 1 minute. An eye opener if you haven't done it before. Jim emphasized that one must be able to have the physical capability to be able to hold the carbine out if one is going to deploy with it. The students with the heavier weapons had a bit of a challenge. My M4 AR15 was light enough, but I could feel the strain towards the last 10 seconds. More shooting commenced with an emphasis on good shooting technique. We were drilled to keep our shooting elbow high and our support elbow under the carbine. We also practiced trigger control and release/reset of the trigger after the shot. A considerable amount of time was set aside for practicing these skills. Shooting with just one arm was also practiced.

After lunch, where lunch and drinks were provided by Nick and Gene, Jim went over the prone position and we went back to the 25 yard line and sighted in our carbines. Iron sights were sighted in at 25 yards with a -1.0 inch zero, while dot sights (all Aimpoint Comp M or MLs with the exception of Jim's Falcon sight) were sighted in for point of impact at 25 yards. Students were then shot for groups and practiced until we could shoot 3 shots from prone into one hole...or really close to it. This wasn't a problem for all shooters after proper instruction. From the prone position, we executed a sniper drill, firing on Jim's command. We then moved to a standing position and practiced tactical magazine changes without looking at the mag and covering our position. The last drill had students move close to the targets where Jim explained the point of aim and the point of impact when using the AR15. We then practiced shot placement on Jim's command.

The next day was a cooler day that turned to a constant drizzle. The range has a hard clay base and the rain turned the ground into a slippery sticky muck that tested students and equipment. My main concern was that my Aimpoint Comp MLXD would fail due to the moisture. I am happy to report that the Comp M/MLXD series red dot optics held up more than adequately and are quite water tight.

Jim had us practice drills from the sling agian and then moved onto movement. The class practiced side to side movement drills after shooting at the target. We then practiced forward and backward movement techniques with the class eventually shooting on the move. During the shooting drills, the class practiced shooting while moving forwards and backwards, failure drills and off hand shooting at various distances. We then practiced checking our position after finishing a firing string. Jim then had the class go to several kneeling positions where we fired onto the targets which were now rounded and thinner. A little harder to hit. From there, the next drill involved going to ground while still covering downrange. We then practiced coming off the ground to a covering position. Jim then showed us how to check our 6 safely without covering anyone with our muzzles. The last drill encompassed all that we had learned and firing onto our targets. We broke for lunch and some of the students went off range to change into dry clothes.

After wringing ourselves out, we then hit the range and partnered up in order to do team drills. Jim explained in detail what the team drills would entail. He went over movement, communication, cover, team member roles and several other important subjects. We then paired off with our partner and proceded to practice live fire drills while on the move and practicing reloading drills. Teams were instructed to come up with commands in order to effectively communicate with each other. At first, we did standing drills with no movement, but quickly moved onto movement drills. Each team shot together while the other teams watched for safeties sake. As the weather was getting worse, we broke off until the evening for the night shoot.

The night shoot had Jim assemble the students together to reinforce that we had to follow his instructions to the letter. Due to the night and continuing rain, Jim didn't want anyone to get hurt due to a misunderstanding. Jim then went into detail of the different flashlights and the different flashlight techniques used when shooting with a carbine. About half of the students had Surefire 6P/Z flashlights and the other half had larger Maglights. With that out of the way, we dressed up a line and practiced shooting from Low Ready with our flashlights. Drills included use of flashlight while firing, side movement after identifying and firing at the target, and moving backwards and forward while shooting at the target with the flashlight. The last skill was executed one at a time for safety reasons. A few more tips and drills were practiced and then we called it a night. A very eye opening experience for this shooter and well worth the effort to find out how oneself and one's equipment could perform in the night, cold, and rain. While at the motel, I enjoyed a good cuban Cohiba cigar and cleaned my weapon before heading to bed.

The next day brought clear skies, and it was time to whip out the sunscreen again! Jim told the class we would learn many different shooting positions from prone that he kindly didn't teach us the previous day due to the rain an muck. I was not aware of how many prone positions there were and enjoyed learning ground shooting...the only thing was that because we were shooting in a line, I received Janko's muzzle blast from his compensator on his "Star Wars" AR15. Jim noted this and cautioned us about being too close to a compensated guns blast as the blast can be damaging to the point of bruising feet through footwear. The class practiced, military prone, roll over prone, reverse roll over prone, Manassa prone, and recovery from prone position. We then broke for lunch and watched a couple of videos that Jim provided.

After lunch, we then paired up with our partners and continued practicing team drills. If one partner ran dry, he yelled out for cover and reason for it, so that his partner could cover or take control of the team. Jim then had us move to swinging plates he had set up. In three member teams, we practiced shooting at the plates from different prone, kneeling, squating and standing positions. Team members would say "go!" once their plate was hit so the next shooter could go ahead and make a hit. A very fast drill that was pretty fun to boot! Unfortunately, Janko was slightly injured during this drill due to a steel penetrator round that was shot out of a students gun. Students were warned NOT to shoot ammo with steel cores at the beginning of the course by Jim, who was upset that a student had gotten injured in his class. This was the first time a student was injured due to a projectile in one of Jim's classes. We were not able to pinpoint who shot the round but Jim had an idea after looking at spent brass casings after the class concluded. The ammo most likely came from IMI ammunition so please be aware when you shoot IMI 5.56mm against a hard backstop or steel plates. Janko was able to finish the course and was the first to proceed to the "hostage situation mover". This really tested the student and making him utilize all the skills learned in class. Everyone passed this last part. Jim then asked if any of us would like to learn how to break down an AR15 upper and lower. Three of us galdly took Jim up on his offer and I personally learned some very useful knowledge.

We all thanked Jim for sharing his knowledge and expertise with us. We received our certificates and helped clear the range. We then thanked Jim again and all were open to attending another course if Jim came up this way again. For what it is worth, the Urban Carbine course taught by Jim Crews is well worth the time, effort and money as you will learn a lot for the money spent! Probably more than one would if you took a course from one of the established shooting schools. Jim really is a great instructor that has the ability to TEACH his students the knowledge he has. There are instructors and then there are teachers who can show the practicality of information and techniques demonstrated, Jim is one of those rare individuals. So, I can whole heartedly endorse the Urban Carbine course and Jim's instruction. Money well spent!

For more information on Jim Crews and his firearms instruction, please visit:

Marksman's Enterprise (link)

(12/14/99)