Costa Ludus

Costa on Second Amendment Turmoil

by admin on January 3, 2013 · 5 comments

Chris Costa of Costa Ludus has released a statement addressing the ongoing Second Amendment debate going on at so many levels across the country. It is no surprise that Costa is a staunch proponent of the Second Amendment, a position so much of (though not all) the readership here on Kit Up! takes. The “gun control” debate is a visceral topic, regardless of which side of the argument you stand. His opinion is quoted here in its entirety for your examination.

 

Over the last few weeks it has been difficult to contain and reconcile emotions with the amount of biased information and misinformation that has been disseminated over the last few months, even years, by the media. If any of my comments come across as callous or insincere, I ask in advance that you please accept my apologies, and know whole-heartedly that my intentions are not to offend.

As many of you know, my family has a proud tradition of serving this great country of ours. My father, as well as his father before him, proudly served in our armed forces. As a young man, I looked up to my father and grandfather, and following their tradition, I too proudly served my country. As a proud Patriot I understand the obligation and commitment of sacrifice for the greater good. Men and women from all walks of life proudly serve this great country of ours, both in times of peace and in times of war, because they fight for the values and beliefs in which this great country was founded. Their sacrifice, laid upon the altar of freedom, was made so that “the right of the people” should be preserved and cherished; not systematically stripped away.

I have four children of my own that I love very much. As a father, it is my proud duty and obligation to protect them. My parents made sure they provided me more than they ever had as children growing up. As a united country, if we are not careful, our children run the inherent risk of having far less and harder times. As a country, it is our duty and a human obligation to protect our neighbor or those who cannot protect themselves.

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Op-Ed and Review: The Armed Citizen and Costa’s HE02 (Part 2 of 2)

by David Reeder on December 21, 2012 · 2 comments

This is the second installment of the review  of a recent Costa Ludus handgun course a Trained and Educated Responsible Armed Citizen attended (HE02) in Myakka, Florida early last month.The author (initials E.D.) is a patriotic citizen who never wore a military or LE uniform. He is an ardent and serious shooter (I hate the term ‘firearms enthusiast’, as though something revolving around deadly force is a quaint hobby) who is a strong supporter of the military, serving on the board of 1/75′s 1ST Ranger Battalion Sua Sponte Foundation.

He may not be a hardened gunslinger with multiple tours overseas, and he obviously doesn’t represent all civilian shooters, but he is a great example of a TEARC and he’s certainly no Gecko45.

Luckily, the night between Day One and Day Two during the actual class didn’t seem to be nearly as long as the gap between Part One and Part Two of this article. I guess since there were no meteors or solar flares and neither Galactus or zombies showed up we might as well run it. DR

“…A blast comes from the shotgun and the manager’s shirt goes from white to crimson before he even hits the floor.  You hear the killer rack the Mossberg and dispatch the teller. Screams and panic grip the civilians around you on the floor.  The shooter then begins to head your way. What do you do?  Do you have the training necessary that provides you with the skills and confidence to bring a resolution to this event if or when you deem force necessary?”

 

Day 2

The second day started with a review of the safety rules.  We moved downrange and hit the ground running.

After another warm up, this time using VTAC targets, Costa gave a brief on “instinctive shooting.”  Like it sounds, instinctive shooting is shooting without a sight picture.  To ensure no one was trying to ‘game it’, we all taped over both of our sights with masking tape and the training block began.

The majority on these drills were done two handed from the compressed ready position.  While looking at the target, we punched out and fired at the A zone from about the three yard line.  We then moved back and shot volleys from the3  5, 7, 10 15 and 25 yard lines.  It is amazing how the mind can still make shot placement possible without the use of sights.  Results for the class overall were mixed. Based on the targets I witnessed, the majority of the folks were able to produce some great groupings from about 15 yards and in. Some struggled with the overall concept and it was reflected on their targets.

With the basics of instinctive shooting covered, we moved once again to shooting from various positions. The segment was completed after we did a ‘Walk back drill’.  Shooters started at the 3 yard line, fired a group, then moved back to the 5, 10, 15  and 25 yard marks.  When the shooter became uncomfortable with the groups at a specific yard line, the front sight tape could be removed.  Every student’s front sight tape was to be removed to be removed at the 15 yard mark.  All tape was removed by the 25 yard mark.  Instinctive shooting is used when things go south fast in close quarters and a sighted shot may not be possible.  It’s not for plugging a running man at 40 yards, rather for 10-15 yards and in.  It was assuring to know that we could make vital shots instinctively if it were to become necessary.

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The Costa Ludus Leg Rig (More Coming)

by David Reeder on September 27, 2012 · 23 comments

As you may have already heard, the Costa Ludus leg rig went on sale earlier today and sold out within about an hour. Though this is partly because there were only 100 made in the initial run, there’s no doubt as to its functionality – or the demand for it.This demand, not surprisingly, began with Costa’s former students. The easy thing detractors will say is that the hype is all due to the ‘fan boy’ factor – and this may be somewhat true. HOWEVER. Anyone slapping that sort of label on it is obviously not reckoning with its ergonomic design, simplicity of use and excellent construction. From what I’ve seen, Costa Ludus students (including the civilians) are squared away and easily proficient enough to notice the advantages of a piece of kit and to decide if it suits their needs.

In short, don’t be quick to dismiss its popularity as the product of cult of personality. This is a great piece of gear, and I think many shooters that might not prefer subloads will find that this padded single-strap configuration to be very comfortable and practical enough for ‘On The Job’ use.

Understand going into this that it was never intended to be a solve-all, nor is was it necessarily intended to be a part of a full-combat use “jocked up” mentality. It was at least initially seen as a great way to address limited need use and, frankly, as a perfect solution for students taking Costa Ludus and other shooting classes.The rig is built for Costa (the only distributor) by High Speed Gear Inc.

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