Louis Awerbuck and Yavapai Firearms Academy @ Boone County August 2009

[esrice]

This just in from the good Sheriff. . . .

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[FONT=&quot]The Boone County Sheriff’s Office is again proud to host world renowned firearms instructor Louis Awerbuck and Yavapai Firearms Academy, LTD. (YFA) for a series of courses in August, 2009. Courses will include: “Room Clearing” August 12-13; Level 1 Pistol August 14-16; Level 2 Pistol August 18-20; Pistol HITT August 22-23; Level 1 Shotgun August 25-27; Carbine Pistol August 28-30.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Information is found below.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Due to the imposition of Daylight Savings Time, we do not have a night shoot. Night shooting techniques are covered in the various course lesson plans.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Fee for the three (3) day courses is $550 and $450 for the two (2) day course. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Prerequisites are required for the advanced courses. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Further information and registration may be obtained from the YFA website: [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Yavapai Firearms Academy[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Regards,[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Ken P. Campbell[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Sheriff[/FONT]

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[FONT=&quot]Tactical Handgun - Stage I[/FONT][FONT=&quot] – August 14-16, 2009[/FONT]​

[FONT=&quot]Designed to create reflexive gun handling, good marksmanship and tactical thinking, this course encompasses shooting from a ready position, the draw stroke and shooting from the holster, shooting from various tactical body positions, loading, unloading and reloading, malfunction clearances, shooting on the move, moving targets, dim light and flashlight shooting and weapon retention. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Ammunition requirement is 500 rounds. [/FONT]
Course Fee is $550.

[FONT=&quot] Tactical Handgun - Stage II– August 18-20, 2009[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]This course starts by assuming the student is capable of performing all exercises done in the Stage I course ON DEMAND. After a brief review, the course continues by compounding the problems encountered in the Stage I class, adding such elements as target angles, vital zone definition under stress, one-handed acquisition and operation, increased speed and longer distances. Stage I Handgun is a prerequisite to this course. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Ammunition requirement is 800 rounds.[/FONT]
Course Fee is $550.

[FONT=&quot] Tactical Shotgun - Stage I[/FONT][FONT=&quot] – August 25-27, 2009[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As with the Stage I Handgun, this course is designed to create reflexive gun handling, good marksmanship and tactical thinking. In addition it places strong emphasis on learning what the shotgun will, and most particularly WILL NOT, do. The importance of patterning the shotgun properly is discussed at length. The course also covers ammunition selection, loading and unloading, reloading and ammunition selection while involved in a shooting scenario, shooting from several ready positions and various tactical body positions, dim-light and flashlight shooting, shooting on the move, moving targets, multiple targets and weapon retention. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Handgun is required for the transition training.[/FONT][FONT=&quot] Sling is mandatory for this course. Light mount on gun is advisable, but not required.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Ammunition requirement is 400 Birdshot, 50 Buckshot and 70 Slugs, 50 pistol[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] Course Fee is $550.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Tactical Carbine-Pistol[/FONT][FONT=&quot] – August 28-30, 2009[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]This course concentrates on the use of the carbine and pistol as a total complementary weapons system. Targets will dictate decision-making thought processes as they pertain to the use of both weapons in specific scenarios, and the ability to smoothly and rapidly transition from one weapon to the other will be emphasized. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Either iron sights or low magnification optical sights are applicable. Sling is mandatory for the weapon and a light mount is advisable. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Ammunition requirement is 400 carbine, 300 handgun.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Course Fee is $550.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]2-Day Pistol HITT – August 22-23, 2009[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]This course will concentrate on strong-hand only firing and manipulation, weak-hand only firing and manipulation, and the use of a backup gun (i.e. the shooters will have both weapons on their body at the same time). Transitions from one pistol to the other are part of the course curriculum. Spare magazines and/or strip loaders for both weapons are mandatory. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Ammunition requirement is 250 rounds for each pistol.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot] Course Fee is $450[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]2-Day Room Clearing[/FONT][FONT=&quot] (restricted to Law Enforcement)[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Day one of this course will cover live fire on the range with various targets, transitions from a long gun to a pistol, and basic techniques of team movement within a "pseudo" floor plan laid out on the range. Day two will consist of room entries and clearing in a building, first using deactivated weapons, and then using Airsoft equipment. Slings are mandatory on any long gun being used. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Ammunition requirement is 250 rounds pistol and 150 rounds for any other weapon being used.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Course Fee is $450[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Host Agency will provide Airsoft equipment and asks for a $10 donation per student for use of the equipment, green gas, pellets, etc. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Those interested need to register through Yavapai Firearms Academy, Ltd. Students are encouraged to enroll in a timely fashion as seats are limited and usually fill rapidly. Those students not affiliated with a law enforcement agency will be required to successfully complete a background check before being accepted for enrollment.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Best regards,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Sheriff Ken P. Campbell[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot](765) 483-3359[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Kcampbell@co.boone.in.us[/FONT]
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[obijohn]

Mr Awerbuck is on the A list folks. if you have the opportunity and the resources, his classes are a must.

 

[strongcrow]

I have signed up for the tac-handgun 1 course. I have been putting this one off for 5 or 6 years due to the cost, ect... but I'm doing it this year. Money's in and I'm committed..

 

[VUPDblue]

Shotgun all the way!!!


hopefully I have one by then...I'd look awful silly showing up with my trap gun.

 

[kludge]

hopefully I have one by then...I'd look awful silly showing up with my trap gun.

If I broke into your house I wouldn't be thinking, "Dude, you look silly with that over-under."

Your trap buddys might laugh at your sling and light tho. And you might pick up a few beauty marks.

I would love to take the shotgun course.

Run what ya brung! My only shotty is a well loved (read: used) 90 year old Model 12 goose gun with a full choke and a 28" barrel. Makes clay birds harder to hit, but when you do, they turn to dust.

 

[rhino]

I'll be in carbine/handgun for the like the 374th time. I'll keep trying until I get it right. It's different each time we do it!

I might do others depending on time/money constraints.

 

[abnk]

Too bad the room clearing one is restricted. I will try to take the shotgun course.

 

[rhino]

Too bad the room clearing one is restricted. I will try to take the shotgun course.

I noticed that too, and it's one of the classes I definitely wanted to do. I sent email to Ken asking about it, but I don't expect a response.

 

[Biohazard]

If you have not had the opportunity to train with Lou you may want to consider a class.

He is down to earth. Low pressure. Has an intelligent reason behind why he advocates certain techniques. Presents them as A way of doing things, not the way. He understands that no single technique is the "best" for everyone. His eye for detail is second to no one. He is able to teach techniques, not just stand in front of a group of people and run his mouth.

I could go on but it probably sounds like I am drinking too much of the YFA cool aid. I don't like cool aid. I recognize a quality instructor that comes to the Indianapolis area. There are a few other good instructors that Sheriff Campbell brings to Indy as well as Awerbuck. It's a huge opportunity for training that many people are not as fortunate to have this conveniently close to them.

 

[Biohazard]

If you go to the class, make sure you ask Lou about the time Pat Rogers saved his life. It never gets old.

In case you didn't see this.........

"Death Under The Desert Sun"
By Patrick Rogers

"A warm summer breeze blew softly across the high desert. Brilliant white clouds wisped softly through an impossibly blue Arizona sky. My Coach, the indomitable but morose Louis Awerbuck, was performing the pre Scrambler run snake recon. The recent record monsoon rains has turned the arid Coconino Plain into a lush, verdant paradise. Green has replaced brown. Standing water is now relatively common. Flying vectors fill the air with a horrific sound, and four legged predators find food- in the form of less agile four legged critters- with great abundance.

The cool rains have also caused reptilian intruders to have an increased presence within the confines of the 1100 acre Gunsite ranch. During my daily run though the Pinion Pines and Juniper Trees I had an average of one encounter every other day.

As the Rangemaster for a 556 Carbine Class, I am responsible for the safety of the students and staff alike. The Scrambler is an outdoor simulator that involves moving laterally across seven stations, while engaging steel targets at various ranges. The stations include earth mounds, a tunnel, and several trees. The last station is the large stump of a hollow tree. Last week, one of the aforementioned reptiles secreted himself in the base of the tree, within inches of where an unwary student would stand. He was eliminated before the start of the run.

Louie, who professes loudly to one and all that he despises radios, keys the carrier and mumbles something indecipherable. Having a fairly severe high frequency hearing loss, the direct result of a North Vietnamese mortarman who managed drop an 82mm high explosive round next to me on a similarly beautiful afternoon in 1966, it is difficult for me to understand the transmission. As Louie is standing a mere 25 yards away, I walked on over.
Louie continued to speak. Normally, even with background noise, I can ascertain what a person says by “reading” their lips.

This is not however possible when looking at Louie. His lips never move….
Nevertheless, Louie made it known that a new inhabitant had taken up residence in the hollow of the same tree. Sure enough, a rattler was coiled inside, blissfully power napping.

Normally I have no quarrel with serpents, but having one in close proximity (in this case, very close proximity) to the lower extremities of those entrusted to my care caused me to reconsider my benevolence.
Louie, sensing the gravity of the situation, volunteered to terminate the snake.

As only a small portion of the snake was visible within the tree, Louie assumed a prone position. Steadying himself for the three foot shot into the two inches of snake visible between the rocks, he pressed the trigger. 230 grains of Semi Jacketed Hollow Point leaped from the barrel of his pistol, striking viciously into the snakes flank. The reptile writhed in pain, and Louie fired again, and again. The snake refused to die, desperately attempting to escape the furious fusillade.

Louie continued to shoot with grim determination, focusing on his golf ball sized front sight and pressing the trigger straight to the rear, then easing to reset, just as he has taught legions of students for lo so many years.
Finally, after the eighth shot cycled through his well worn pistol, Louie gazed up at me, clearly incredulous that his opponent was in the fight.
“Bot, I keep hitting him” Louie said (I think) in his thick Boer accent.
The rattler, sensing Louie’s distraction, chose this moment to leap from the trunk, rapidly closing the distance to his tormentor. Realizing that my trusty sidekick was soon to be snake chow, I knew that only my quick action could save him from a painful bite.

My right hand flashed to my G-Code SOC Holster, removing the spring loaded bale, and starting the draw stroke on my Kimber Interim Close Quarter Combat Pistol.

I acquired a flash sigh picture, and pressed a single shot into the snake, just behind his head. He fell to the ground, finally dead.
As I tac loaded and holstered, Louie poked the bullet riddled carcass of his former opponent with a stick, muttering something about getting better ammunition …..

(As an aside, earlier in the day, Sonja Mills, wife of Gunsite’s owner Buz Mills, encountered a rattlesnake sitting on the porch of her house. She retrieved the .22 pistol from the kitchen, fired a single shot into the head- causing Mr. Snake to cease being an earthly oxygen consumer- and tossed him over the fence).

As we walked over to brief the students on the Scrambler, Louie looked over at me and said “Bot, Bot, you are not going to put this on the internet, are you? You aren’t going to tell Ken Campbell about this?
“Of course not “ I assured him.

But how can you not share a great story about a true legend?"

 

[Shay]

I noticed that too, and it's one of the classes I definitely wanted to do. I sent email to Ken asking about it, but I don't expect a response.

Why don't you expect a response?

 

[Carp]

Thumbs up to Mr. Awerbuck. He has an excellent eye for detail to diagnose and correct errors. He also has an entertaining demeanor

 

[Biohazard]

bump
getting close

 

[pftraining_in]

I have attended Awerbucks Handgun I; Shotgun and Pistol/Carbine x3.

My favorite class has been the shotgun. We shot 300 rounds of birdshot; 100 rounds of OO buck and 50 rounds of slugs (all 12ga) in three days. After Louis instruction and constant reminder of technique I left the class with no bruising or pain. Louis states that the shotgun is his favorite weapon and it shows. Targets for the class included paper, pepper poppers suspended from a rack, 50 and 100 yr steel plates and his "patented" computer driven mover target that simulates a hostage situation. You also learn transitions and how to choose the right ammo for the situation.

After the class you will be able to handle the shotgun with out even thinking. I would highly recommend this class to LE as most departments shotgun qualifications are below par. You leave with a new confidence in the shotgun as a go to weapon.

Louis's ability with the shotgun was covered in SWAT magazine Sept 08 when he was chosen by the Marines to instruct them on their new Benellis.

MARINES’ M1014 BENELLI SHOTGUN
Specialized Training With Louis Awerbuck
"If there were such a thing as a doctorate in small arms, Louis Awerbuck would be one of a half-dozen people I think qualified for the title. He is a master of the art." So stated Lt.Col. Jeff Cooper, USMC, in 1999. Thus, when some of the leadership within I Marine Expeditionary Force went looking for the right combat shotgun instructor to train their Marines how to fight with the M1014 Joint Service Benelli shotgun, they looked no further than Louis Awerbuck, president of Yavapai Firearms Academy. The author attended a recent class.
by Lt.Col. Freddie Blish, USMC (Ret.)

Pistol/Carbine is an excellent beginners class, a class for learning the fundamentals and a class if low impact training is required. Louis does not make his students run or shoot from odd positions. The course is also a great refresher course if you have had other training. As with any training, every instructor is different. Louis can find your problems and fix them. He also has this uncanny ability to be on the other end of the line with his back to you and still catch when you screw up. Plate carriers and the such are not required for his classes, but if you wish to kit up you can. Generally you only need the ability to carry two mags while on the line. Louis is not gear guy and does not recommend anything that he has not either used himself or has first hand knowledge of.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

So, if Pat talked about the snake, can we talk about the rabbit now?

 

[rhino]

Man, now I feel guilty because I haven't done the shotgun class yet.

 

[Barry in IN]

Man, now I feel guilty because I haven't done the shotgun class yet.

As you should. For shame, for shame.
It's the man's signature class, and you haven't taken it for crying out loud.
Appalled, I am.


I'm sure glad I took it a few months ago so I could say all that.

See you in Carbine/Pistol.

 

[rhino]

You're right! You're right!

Instead of saying "I'm not doing it," this year, I'll wait and see how my schedule, health, and finances look toward the end of summer. If it's feasible, I'll be there.

 

[VUPDblue]

Yay!!! There's a remote possibility that the Rhino will be in attendance!!!!!!

 

[j706]

Most of my LEO firearms training was done with BCPD as well as Yavapi firearms LTD. I have never took the shotgun course and had never heard of the room clearing class until now. Good to know.

Indiana is lucky to have a sheriff and sheriffs department like the Boone County Police Department. Anyone that has a chance I would encourage you to take some of those classes. You will never regret it.