This was the very first M4Carbine training class with Larry Vickers www.vickerstactical.com as the instructor. The facility used was GTA http://www.gta.dynalias.org/ and we would like to thank Bill B. for letting hold the class there!
Since this was a basic carbine class, we saw a lot of first time shooters. One of the shooters commented to me that about the first couple hours on the first day were “basic carbine” and then LAV immediately went to intermediate level. This was an eye opener for many to say the least. Larry has a very good ability at judging the speed at which the class could move. This is an important skill to have when dealing with new shooters.
The importance of accuracy was stressed and all of the drills used were done so to help the shooter bring their skills up to speed quickly. Because of this, the shooters abilities grew rapidly and there was a noticeable improvement from one day to the next. It is fantastic to watch people take LAV’s knowledge, apply it and then receive the reward for doing so.
Proper gear selection is always a big thing and LAV offered solicited and unsolicited advice on what kit is good and what is bad. This alone is worth the price of admission for many. Some shooters found out that what works great off a bench rest, doesn’t work so well during transition drills, moving and shooting or prone.
For the most part, everyone’s carbines ran well. We had some trigger/hammer pins walk on a student, but no weapons went down. The majority of the students were running custom built G&R or Superior Firearms uppers. The rest were mostly Colt’s and CMMG.
On the second day of training, a special guest appeared on the range. Mr. Ken Hackathorn made a surprise visit and taught a good portion of the day. To say this was a treat for the students is an understatement. Everyone in the class was very excited to get the chance to train with Ken and he didn’t disappoint! As an added bonus, Ken brought an M1 Carbine and an AK for the students to shoot! At the end of the day, we went out to dinner as a class and Ken came along. This was probably the highlight of the day for most of the guys.
To get the opportunity to train with Ken or Larry is a great thing, but to get both of them together on the same range at the same time is simply fantastic! Thanks again Ken for taking the time to train with us.
Thanks you to all that participated in the first M4C training class and a special thanks to VLTOR, Midwest Industries, Noveske Rifleworks, and Tango Down for their support.
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