Overview:

Unbelievable!  Who would have thought that someone with NO firearms experience would rise to a shooting proficiency to graduate the Select Fire M16 class in 4 short days?  At least one student in our class did just that.  The curriculum, staff and facility provides a very well rounded education in a positive learning environment.  (The heat is another story . . .)

Support Equipment:

Listed below are my personal preferences (what worked for me).  These are by no means absolute.  Everyone is different so I leave it to you to decide what works for best for you.

Hydration -

In the Nevada, is it possible to over-hydrate.  During range activities, I drank 1.5-2.0 liters and that was supplemented by another half liter during each trip back to the trailer for a break in the shade.  Used a 3 liter Unbottle Camelbak.  While the weight was noticeable in the morning, the extra water helped keep the temperature down and I had cool (not cold) water all day without refills.  Front sight supplies cold water at all of the ranges so a 3 liter capacity is not necessary.  So, on the range Camelbak and off the range cold water and Gatorade mix supplied by Front Sight.

 

The Unbottle was carried in a Blackhawk Tactical Vest, which also carried 3 magazines, reloading ammo, PowerBars, flashlight and first aid kit.  The vest has the advantage that it does not have backpack straps to get in the way of finding the (shoulder) pocket with the rifle.  [Most students did not use a vest and some students used hydration packs without any obvious issues.]

 

Clothing -

Long sleeves and pants are a must.  Light colors are preferred (light brown/tan don't show the dirt).  I used 3 color dessert camo BDU pants.  I knew we were in a warming trend so I wore long sleeve t-shirts the first two days and then switched to Dri-Fit type short sleeve shirts under a light weight, long sleeve BDU shirt (also 3 color dessert camo).

 

Baseball caps work well, but if you have the "behind the neck" type hearing protection, go with a boonie had for the extra sun protection.

 

Light to heavy weight hiking boots work well.  The terrain varies from hard packed gravel/dirt to loose gravel to sand.  On range is mostly gravel and hard pack.  The really loose stuff is in the simulators.  Wear whatever will provide good support.  Light weight hiking socks with thin polypropylene liner sock will help keep the moisture off of your feet.

 

Personal Protection Equipment -

Oakley M Frames with a Black Iridium lens have always provided maximum coverage and maximum visibility (no bridge to obstruct the view).  [Marines in the class wore Wileys with foam around the lens perimeter to seal out the dust and dirty.]

 

Peltor Tac 6 electronic hearing protection recommended by Front Sight is designed with reliefs intended to clear the rifle stock.  While a step in the right direction, several of the students still had problems hitting the stock before obtaining the proper head position.  One student flipped his over (he had the "behind the neck" version) and it fixed his problem.  Ear cups on the "over the head" version can be removed and re-installed upside down, but if both are flipped, it can be folded up into the compact storage size originally intended by the design.  Electronic hearing protection allows you to hear the range commands and conversations better due to the built-in amplifiers.