September 2026 Recap

On Thursday, September 3, 2026, I conducted a retired officer qualification for one retiree who qualifies with me every year. His Glock Model 22 Gen 5 with a Glock Performance Trigger ran fine as expected. This student is one of my few students that still runs a .40 S&W. They are rare, but the caliber isn’t extinct, at least not yet. He qualified without issue as always.

On Saturday, September 26, 2026, I taught Defensive Rifle 2 to four students at Darke County Fish and Game Association in New Paris, Ohio. Guns in attendance were .223/5.56 and 9mm rifles and braced pistols ranging from a Sig MPX in 9mm, Springfield Saint with Low Power Variable Optic (LPVO) and HRT light, a Daniel Defense V7 with a fixed 3x Vortex Optic, and a Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 P with an Aimpoint Optic. The latter three were chambered in .223/5.56. I demonstrated drills with my departments Smith and Wesson M&P 15 SBR with a Sig SRD-556 QD suppressor, Holosun AEMS and 3x Magnifier. Except for the Daniel Defense braced pistol having an issue of not wanting to go into battery, none of the rifles or pistols had any other issues to speak of. Luckily, he brought a backup rifle, a Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 with a Vortex Strike Eagle LPVO. Further inspection by its owner that night revealed a small piece of brass was stuck in the chamber of his braced pistol. Once he removed that, his braced pistol was back in service.

Defensive Rifle 2 is a course that is designed to help students further and add onto their skills learned during Defensive Rifle. Skills learned during class are beneficial for home defenders, neighborhood defense in a time of crisis and for patrol officers alike. All students passed the second half of the OPOTA patrol rifle qualification, which means that, after taking both Defensive Rifle 1 and 2, they have met and, in most cases, exceeded the standard necessary for Ohio cops to carry a patrol rifle.

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  Defensive Rifle 2 students awaiting the fight command during turning drills from high ready.

On Sunday, September 27, 2026, I taught Urban Sharpshooter at VFW Post 6557’s range in Ludlow Falls, Ohio to the same four students I taught the previous day. All guns in attendance were .223/5.56 rifles with LPVO’s attached. Varieties included Springfield Saint with Low Power Variable Optic (LPVO) and HRT light, a Frankenstein build with a Spikes Tactical Lower, a ballistics advantage barrel, Magpul furniture and a Vortex 1x6 LPVO, a Daniel Defense DDM4 V7 with a Vortex Strike Eagle, and Rock River LAR-15 with a 20-inch upper and a Trijicon 1x8 LPVO. I demonstrated drills with my departments Smith and Wesson M&P 15 SBR with a Sig SRD 556 QD suppressor, Holosun AEMS and 3x Magnifier. All rifles ran fine with no issues to speak of.

Urban Sharpshooter is a class designed to teach students to shoot precision shots from 10 yards to 250 yards with modern semi-automatic rifles. It’s doing rifle shit with rifles. As Jack said, “Kyle puts you in difficult positions and expects you to perform.” Have I mentioned how entertaining our instructional staff are? Three out of the four students passed the shooting test at the end, which tests your application of what you learned during the class.

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