MAG30 Review
I attended MAG30 for the 3rd time at Camp Villere in Slidell, LA. Hosted by Bill “The Godfather” Long from Gulf Coast Shooters.
Senior Staff Instructor David Maglio discussing the nuance of technique
The class is focused on the refinement of court defensible shooting technique introduced in the prerequisite MAG20 class. Senior Staff Instructor and head of the MAG Instructor Program, David Maglio, defines the class as “This is a PhD level class on how to shoot, a shooter development class. Tactics are taught in other classes.”
Shooting the Qualifier
The first day was a complete re-education in shooting the 60 round MAG Qualifier. All fundamentals were covered with safety and order religiously maintained. We also began laying the groundwork for the rapid trigger cycling needed later in the class, we fired about 800 rounds.
The second day started with a cold single speed qualifier, then one to make up for the previous day. I shot perfect 300 scores back to back. The second day is digging deep on the accuracy. Each of the 9 shooting positions (Weak and Strong Hand Only, Double Bill, Cover Crouch, High Kneeling, Low Kneeling, Weaver, Chapman, and Isosceles) were picked apart and every nuance explored. Each shooter receives personal instruction and evaluation.
Then, we “shoot til’ you puke”. With 4 magazines of 6 rounds, we begin shooting. This time, we started with the 15 yard Weaver stance 24rds, to the 20 yds line for 24 rds, to the 25yd line for 24 rds, back to the qualifier distance for 24 more rounds. The idea being that after shooting further and further away, the original string should be much easier to clean… and it was. And so we went, working our way through each of the 9 positions of the MAG qualifier, shooting about 1200 rounds on day 2. We ended this section with Weak Hand Only (WHO) as fast as you can get reloaded and back on the line; at 4 yards, 7 yards, 10 yards, 15 yards, 20 yards, 25 yards then back to 4 yards, for a total of 168 rounds WHO.
When we got to 25 yds shooting WHO it was clear that we were being pushed beyond anything any of us thought was possible, then coached until that became reality. The instruction was more like a martial arts class in that anyone who did not perform was showered with instruction until they began performing.
This “shoot til’ you puke” approach is key in shooter development as it busts people out of bad habits and forces them to just do as instructed. Everyone was really starting to destroy the A zone. We shot the single speed qualifier again to round out the day.
The last day is about keeping accuracy while adding speed. We shot double speed for the first part of the day, and triple speed for the second part. The emphasis is on rapidly cycling the trigger while not losing the accuracy. The third day also has a “shoot til’ you puke” session, We had to holster with the slide back to let the guns cool off. We shot around 1100 rounds on day 3.
I have been on a maintenance routine of once a month shooting due to ammo expense and availability for over a year, and I saw a drop off in peak performance. These 3000 rounds under the watchful eye of David Maglio was just what I needed to get back in some serious form. I’ll be happy to get back to shooting twice a week and push the edge of envelope.
I recently switched to a red dot optic and was taking advantage of the MAG30 class to learn about my new gear. I made a critical error on the triple speed qualifier, I failed to do the “Blind Swordsman” confirmation on the Double Bill Drill. My sight was giving me a 45 degree oval on the dot and I made a nice little group in the -1 zone. This cost me in the overall. I came in 2nd behind Derek Overstreet by 4 points, who shot a perfect 300 on the triple speed qualifier.
Derek Overstreet shot an impressive perfect score on Triple Speed. With David Maglio
The proper application of the trigger cycle and the Stressfire Index is the secret to fast shooting, worrying about the reset has nothing to do with the speed we learned.
I’ve heard from some- “I don’t see the need for MAG30, it is just MAG20 sped up”. That is a bad assumption, because the additional training is how to keep the accuracy you built in the first two days, when you speed up on the third day.
In addition, like football camp, having a coach, David Maglio, to push you beyond what you think your limits are and drive you to succeed at a higher level than you thought possible has an immeasurable impact. I never thought I could hit WHO at 25 yds, and when I went back to the 4 yd line, burning it down as fast as I could pull the trigger was awesome.
There is a reason this is my 3rd time through MAG30, and I’ll be attending again. I realized a while back that I’d made more progress in the 3000 rounds of MAG30 than all of the 35,000 rounds I shot in the previous year. If you are serious about shooting, you NEED to take this class.
For my gear, I shot my carry gun, a stock Glock G34 MOS with a Holosun 507C red dot optic and a C&H mounting plate. My optic was mounted to C&H spec with purple threadlocker. The Holster was Tenicor Velo4, Safariland, Bladetech and JM Custom Kydex mag pouches. My clothing was my standard street clothing, polo shirt and jeans. I chose to add an additional safety to the Glock, the Striker Control Device from Tau Dev Group (now produced by Langdon Tactical).
Two of us were on our third trip through MAG30, and another on his second.
Lessons learned
Hydration is an ever present issue in South Louisiana. We had beautiful cloudless skies with highs in the mid 80’s. MAG30 is a no nonsense shoot fest, we were steady rolling… fill mags, tape, and back to the line. We were in that sun for 10 hours a day, cool down periods were given when the shooters were dragging but people were running out of water. My 2 cases of water sat in a hot car all day and got too hot to be of any use. The local stop-and-rob was out of ice so I bought a $35 case of cold water, dirty rats charged me per bottle. I’ll plan better next time.
Don’t put garbage in your gun. The sand was a fine powder, failing to wipe the magazines off after a trip through the sand caused my stock Glock to begin to gum up. The Lucas Red and Tacky that I use on the slide rails and barrel turned into a sludge with the sand. The gun never failed but the slide was visibly cycling slower. I detail stripped, cleaned, lubed and inspected for day two. Wiping off the magazines for the rest of the class kept the sand out of the gun. This is critical. I saw other people have their guns go down. Stock Glocks seem to be the king of reliability. Some SIGs were choking. The Canik seemed to be ok.
Double action guns are a challenge. We had two people fail to meet the incredibly high standard of 90% on each of the 7 qualifiers, including the double and triple speed. Both of those shooters chose double action SIGs. It can be done, but it takes a level of skill to do it under pressure. Choose wisely.
Positive attitude. The class began a week before with educational materials emailed out. Included in those was information on mental management, dealing with stress and positive attitude. Those who showed negative reinforcement also showed a marked decline from peak performance. It pays to do the homework.
Previous MAG30 graduate, Mike Teifer, came out as a safety officer. We all appreciated his positive attitude and help.
Mike Teifer, the safety officer. With David Maglio
