Me? No. But I do have some lessons learned that might help others headed to class. My own experience as well as watching others have trouble.
* CLEAN YOUR DANG GUNS. And then oil them. John even has a video on a quick process for an AR. It's so easy and avoids a bunch of problems. Saw more than a few people having repeated malfunctions due to maintenance issues. (One guy's action sounded like there was sand in it. Dry.)
* ZERO YOUR DANG SIGHTS. I spent maybe a half hour at the range the day before I drove to class zeroing the sights on my rifles. While it would be nice to zero at the same distance they'll use in class, just get A ZERO of some sort. It was clear that some of the people in the rifle class had never done this. Wildly off. There are videos on youtube, guys... save us all some time and get this done. It's easy.
* Check all bolts and screws. This one happened to me. The little screw holding the safety selector thingy on my brand new Daniel Defense came loose and during one of the first exercises in rifle one, just dropped to the ground. Fortunately, I'd brought a second rifle and switched out, but I finished the course with my PSA instead of my DD. Check tightness and locktite the stuff if required.
* Get a MagLULA loader for your calibers (9mm and 556 in my case). Much, much faster than loading magazines with fingers only.
* If you can afford it (especially for rifle) consider getting a bunch of magazines, loading before class, and then just grabbing new, loaded magazines when it's time to "jam mags". Faster and less stress. Harder to do with pistol since they cost so much more.
* Not listed (at least, I don't think it was) but consider getting a "dump pouch" for your war belt. People love 'em or hate 'em, but it gave me a place to carry extra loaded mags and a place to put empties that wasn't on the ground. I like the Maxpedition "Rolly Polly". Folds up tiny when not using. Pull a single velcro tab and the bag unrolls and expands to hold up to 7 AR15 30rd mags. Nice.
* If attending class at the range in Dalton GA, don't do like I did and bring a bunch of water in bottles in a cooler. Just bring a nalgene bottle and refill occasionally from the water cooler in the little office just off the range. Very nice facility.
* Bring your lunch. Almost no one goes to lunch away from the range, and you'll save a lot of time.
* If you buy ammo by the box, strongly consider getting a surplus metal army ammo can. Dump all of your ammo out of the boxes and into the can. Throw the cardboard boxes away before you come to class. It's much faster this way, and you don't leave trash at the range.
* At the last minute, on a whim, I bought some tinted shooting eye glasses. Very glad I did. Sun was bright and I was out in it all day long.
* For rifle (at least) consider doubling up on earpro. I wore plugs and a headset. Rifle 3ft on either side was loud. :)
* Find out where the freakin' class is being held. If you don't receive an email telling you where the class is (address of range), call / email WPS and ASK. We had a guy arrive late, and one miss entirely because email was missed / not received. That's ok, it happens. But waiting until DAY OF to try to figure out where the class is being held is dumb. (I put the address on a printed check list I used to pack the car for the class. Overkill? Maybe, but I don't like Sam yelling at me. lol.)
