Fighting Kalashnikov Course Review, by Mountaineer

Like many I had heard a lot of, not so flattering, things about the AK and I believed them. Believed them for no better reason than “just because”. First time I handled an AK was during NC Scouts Fighting Carbine course in 2019 and honestly I was like “ok?, I’m here to work on my AR skills”.

As I read more about the AK , talked more with Scout and got the privilege of running some rounds through a PSA AK pistol (hey PSA about making some more of them?) I got an itch that needed to be scratched.

Fast forward, I picked one up and since I had learned so much in Scouts AR course I knew there would be no better way to get to know my new friend than to attend the Fighting Kalashnikov course.

Saturday on the range started w/ a safety brief, followed by rounds on target to burn that anticipatory energy and allow Scout to get an assessment of each shooter and their weapon. The day progressed with confirming zero, mag change drills, and various different static shooting drills. After lunch we advanced to moving while shooting as individuals and then in buddy teams. We also practiced transitioning from dominate to non-dominate side shooting. Hot, tired and sweaty we wrapped up about 16:30.

Sunday began with a quick review of our Saturday drills. We then worked on shooting using barricades which reinforced transitioning between our dominate to non-dominate sides. The day progressed to working in 2 and 3 man teams closing on targets from a distance using the barricades. This was summing up all the things we had been working; shooting, mag changes, moving, using cover/concealment all while adding in the communication necessary between teammates moving on an objective. We finished Sunday by practicing fighting to our feet, never know when you might end up on your back in a bad situation – that never happens right?

Scout’s very good at what he does and his knowledge of the AK is amazing. He answered everyone’s questions, brought in real world examples of “why” and “why not” to help make his point. He made sure everyone got it and never left a man behind. There were a couple of issues with some of the attendees weapons that he took the time to help them with and turned that into a teaching/learning experience for the rest of us. He even let attendees use some of his own AKs.

This course was a great learning experience and took me from an AK noob to a confident, competent AK dude. Take a course, get some training, you won’t be sorry.

See you at the next AK course or maybe before.