We’ve aggregated the serialized course review from SSD’s attendance at the Blackheart International Foreign Weapons Course. It makes reading easier and a few things have been updated.

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Day 5 of the Blackheart International Foreign Weapons Course is test and graduation day. There are no photos of this final phase of instruction simply because it is an evaluation. However, here is what happens on a macro level. Day 5 is the culmination of everything we have learned. Ammunition ID is critical. All of those pile tests we accomplished at the end of each day come in very handy, and maintenance and manual of arms for each weapon is crucial to success. If you attend this course, your skills will be tested. Some would say that the training staff “fire hoses” the students over the course of the week, but there is enough practical application and hands-on reinforcement over the course of the week to make sure the material sinks in.

We reported to the range at 0730 and went right to work. Prior to testing (and after), all of the weapons were available for practice (take down and reassembly) as well as live fire on the main KD range. There was also a dueling tree set which led to some interesting competitions. How about a Sten gun versus a GLOCK?

One at a time, the students face the final evaluation on a separate range which cannot be observed by the other students. I am told by the instructors that no two students ever negotiate the course the same way and that strengths and weaknesses become glaringly apparent as the evaluation progresses.

In my case, it was most certainly true. I reduced all of the threats but fixated on placing a weapon into action that had been challenging to me during the week. Instead of using other resources to progress through the course of fire, I decided that it wasn’t going to “beat” me and I was going to make it work. I wasted time doing so and in a real-world situation could have exposed myself to danger. I already had plenty of resources for success but allowed myself to become myopic and really ramped up the stress in doing so. Once I felt my mouth go dry, I noticed the fine motor skills start to erode. I was placing a lot of stress on myself to succeed. Ultimately, I stopped what I was doing and used the other tools at my disposal to finish the evaluation. I learned a valuable lesson during that evaluation, and in speaking with my fellow students about their experience, I would say that they did too.

The facilities are great. I’ve talked about Sugar Creek Lodge with its weight room, wi-fi service and large eat-in kitchen and Wednesday night home cooked meal. When the course director told me via email, “Just bring your clothes and tooth brush,” he wasn’t far off. Over the week’s coverage, I’ve also mentioned in passing Blackheart’s 300 acre range facility with KD and unknown distance ranges. Lastly, the Headquarters and Training building houses the class room as well as a well stocked retail store. Everything is clean and well maintained.

The access to working weapons that you can actually fire is unparalleled. These includes the everything from the Makarov on the small end up to and including the DShKM in the heavy category. While in the service, several of my units had foreign weapons in the arms room but we never had any ammunition. At a minimum each student fires:
12.7 x 108 10 rds
7.62 x 54R 150 rds linked
7.62 x 54R 20 rds
7.62 x 51 50 rds
7.62 x 25 144 rds
7.62 x 39 440 rds
5.45 x 39 300 rds
9 x 18 50 rds
9 x 19 250 rds

I have a newfound respect for Soviet-era weapons after this experience, particularly the Makarov due to its implicitly and the PKM due to its reliability. Additionally, I found that the AK family of weapons can be effectively employed if you understand them and apply the fundamentals of marksmanship. The unknown distance range really helped me understand how to use the AK sighting system. I wish I would have taken this course 25 years ago.

This was a great course and I highly recommend it to anyone who requires knowledge of the identification, employment, and maintenance of foreign small arms. Blackheart often tailors this course to the specific requirements of users so don’t hesitate to ask if they can support your requirement.

Thank you to Blackheart International and their entire staff for inviting me to this course and your support throughout the week.

www.BHItraining.com

On day 3 we concentrated on former Soviet bloc marksmanship weapons like the SVD and FRK (PSL) as well other foreign weapons such as the Moison Nagant, SKS, .303 Enfield, G3, and FN FAL. The SVD isn’t a sniper rifle by any stretch of the imagination. It just isn’t built to the accuracy level needed for true sniper operations but it does offer a more accurate alternative to the standard AK.

As usual the day began with lectures and hands on practice. This time with the RPG-7. Unfortunately, due to the availability of rounds, we were unable to do any live fire. This block of training was followed by Russian marksmanship weapons in addition to various .30 weapons from around the world.

Later in the day, at the unknown distance range, we employed the guns we went over in class as well as a couple of others. We also had the opportunity to fire the BHI-15 with SureFire mini suppressor. The video is of the FRK also know as the PSL. Think of it as an AK blown up to 7.62 x 54R. It kicks pretty hard.

The day ended with a great deal of weapon cleaning and individual testing which consisted of a huge pile of parts laid out on a table. Students had to assemble the weapons and perform a function check, all the while answering questions regarding ammunition and nomenclature.

Today the class will meet on the range to conduct some weapon drills followed by a final Practical Examination which is the culmination of everything we have learned. They’ve kept us in the dark about what will happen but I’ll tell you more in my next installment.

www.BHItraining.com

Yesterday, I had a rare opportunity to live fire a DShK (dush-kah) which is a Russian produced heavy machine gun. Blackheart International offers the only hands on, live fire instruction for heavy foreign weapons in the United States.

Day 3 of the BHI Foreign Weapons Course was all about Machine Guns…big, dangerous looking, Soviet Machine Guns. Over the course of a career, you might get to handle foreign weapons and maybe even shoot an AK, but rarely if ever do you get the opportunity to not only get into the nitty gritty of how to use and maintain them, but actually fire them as well. It’s training like this that promotes adaptability, going beyond simply demonstrating a capability to a student. Blackheart ensures you know how to do it.

Once again, we began the day with lecture paired with hands on application. Using the same methodology as previous days, our instructors gave us history of each weapon followed by a demonstration on how to make it safe, load it and maintain it. Due to the variety of machine guns we completed the lecture portion before starting a round robin with students rotating between the RPK, RPD, PKM and DShKM. In addition to the weapons themselves we also learned about accessories such as the tripods and cleaning kits. Below are examples of amazing cleaning kits provided to Russian troops with these weapons. Not shown is the DShK kit which includes a hammer!

PKM Cleaning Kit

RPD Cleaning Kit

Employment tips would come later in the day, at the range. We had one left to do before we could head out the door. After loading our DShKM links with specially produced 12.7 x 108mm ammo, we headed to the live fire range.

Once we set up the weapons, we were given the opportunity to load ammo belts and magazines and then put them to good use. The range was an unknown distance affair with various targets out to 800m. This meant that we would employ the range settings on the sights of the various weapons we had learned about during the morning’s classroom portion. Everything Blackheart does builds on what is learned previously and reinforces it.

Firing the RPK

Firing the PKM

Firing the DShKM

We all also fired the RPD.

Then, we headed back to the classroom and cleaned the machine guns. This not only provided critical maintenance but once again reinforced the day’s lessons. Due to the length of the training day, we capped it off with a written quiz on weapons nomenclature and calibers after a quick briefing on some of Blackheart’s other training courses and technologies.

Once the class arrived back at Sugar Creek Lodge, the class was surprised with a home cooked meal. Prepared by BHI’s very own Miss Carolyn, it was delicious and really hit the spot. Big thank you from all of us! It really means a lot to attend a course and be able to go back to a homelike atmosphere with all of the amenities. In addition to a great view of the West Virginia countryside, the lodge even has a workout room in the basement. Service like this allows you to concentrate on the training.

Today, we familiarize ourselves with the RPG and get some hands on time with the SDV, Moisin Nagant, and SKS.

www.BHItraining.com