Ammunition… Less CAN be More! – By Scott Reitz

For years I have been perplexed when shooters have determined which class they will take based on the number of rounds they will fire during a given period of time. For instance, some classes have advertised that they will shoot 1,000 rounds a day or 700 rounds a day and so forth. First, in order to accomplish this you are more than likely simply emptying magazines into a target and firing downrange at such an incessant rate that little or no thought process could realistically go into it, other than to get rounds out. You cannot be problem solving to any effective degree and you are simply wearing out the weapon system for no good reason. You cannot be changing evolutions to any appreciable degree as it takes time to re-configure a range so that it mirrors realistic scenarios. Not to mention that it is also very costly in this day and age and ammunition is not as easily acquired.

We have never determined that an effective learning curve is enhanced by ridiculously high round counts. It is quite the opposite. The most effective resolutions of documented shootings have generally occurred with fewer rounds rather than more rounds. This stands to make sense as one does have to process an enormity of information and then act on it, all while attaining the cleanest and most effective means to this end, with the least amount of rounds possible. You can hose all you want, but it is going to cost you in dollars and bad habits and you really haven’t proven anything nor accomplished much.

Since long before the current ammunition shortage and resulting skyrocketing prices in Los Angeles, we have always been judicious in our round counts because we strive to teach effectively and realistically, which has proven itself through the hundreds of our students (LEO and civilians) who have been involved in shootings. In essence, it’s not the amount of rounds downrange but rather the quality of those rounds downrange which makes for effective training. I could very easily train you very effectively with just 100 rounds a day or even less, but with the human condition being what it is, this would not be accepted as ‘high speed’ training. Repeating the same static drill again and again through hundreds of rounds ad nausea proves and accomplishes absolutely nothing.

Our reduction in minimum round counts for some of our classes is a response to those who have expressed budgetary constraints and/or those who cannot seem to find quantities of rounds in any given caliber. Using ammunition judiciously in classes continues to allow us to provide high quality training to those who might otherwise feel it is unattainable under the current circumstances, and we are very glad we can do so. If any student wants to shoot more rounds than what’s listed for a given class (within reason or within what we deem an effective use of ammunition), we can always accommodate that by simply adding additional factors which would ‘up’ the round count. Either way, effective training has always been our mainstay and will continue to be.

Remember: YOU CAN TRAIN EFFECTIVELY WITH FEWER ROUNDS!!!