bgoltra
09-25-12, 21:16
AAR: 914 Consulting LLC-Vickers Shooting Method 1-Day Basic Handgun Class 22 September 2012 Virginia Beach, VA
Date: 22 September 2012
Company: 914 Consulting LLC (http://www.914consulting.com)
Instructor: Christopher Hans Frank. Chris was friendly, professional, and funny. He made it clear this was a marksmanship class not a tactics class. He demonstrated what he was teaching on demand and was very attentive to each student throughout the day, offering constructive criticism that sometimes immediately improved performance. Chris Frank also left his ego someplace else, he immediately acknowledged when he made the rare mistake and made a teachable moment out of it.
Location: C2 Shooting Center (http://www.thec2center.com) in Virginia Beach, VA.
Weather: 83F, sunny, with a little breeze. A great day to be outside.
Who: My dad, my friend Chris, and me. My dad and I have taken TigerSwan's Intro to Pistol course. This was Chris's first formal instruction and he might have benefited from an NRA first steps pistol class first. I should have taken the time prior to the course to show him some basic gun handling such as when to use the slide release vs overhand release, ins-and-outs of magazine changes, etc. That said, he didn't slow the course down. Chris Frank was patient when he needed to be and busted chops when necessary. There was approximately 10 students in the class which seemed just about right for one instructor.
Where: The C2 Shooting Center is a solid facility. Brass has to be collected at the end, but that's not a deal breaker for me. My only complaint is the range didn't open up on time by no fault of Chris Frank's, students for another class were waiting outside when we arrived too.
We started off the day with safety briefing and introductions. Chris Frank informed us right up front that he doesn't carry a gun for a living and provided some history on how the VSM program (http://vickerstactical.com/training-by-larry-vickers/larry-vickers-regional-endorsed-instructors/) came into existence. The class comprised mostly newer civilian shooters with some security contractors sprinkled in. The emphasis on strong fundamentals was hammered right from the start and the point was made that advanced classes merely stress strong fundamentals under tighter time constraints with higher accuracy standards.
I apologize if some of of my nomenclature may not be exactly right. Throughout the class we fired at B8 targets with index cards stapled above on a silhouette style target. We fired five rounds fired at the index card from 3 yards to begin the day with the accuracy standard that you should be able to cover the group with your thumb. As we moved back throughout the day, accuracy standards were kept tight. Chris Frank used a timer to start many drills in an effort to desensitize us from getting nervous at the beep. This seemed to work for me, by the end of the day the beep just meant start, not a reason to get spun up. We moved on to cover stance, grip, sight alignment, magazine changes, and the draw. We also went over a partnered drill to teach trigger reset during recoil, something I need to keep working on. All three of us found the drill where a spent shell casing is placed on the front sight to be excellent. This drill combined with the ball and dummy drill both diagnoses and treats poor trigger control. The simple effectiveness is pretty impressive. Chris Frank taught us a five step draw which is an additional step than what I learned previously, but effective nonetheless.
Once the basics were covered in the morning, we engaged in a little group competition both in teams and a walk back drill on an 8 steel target. The last shooter in class made it back to about 35 yards.
Chris Frank provided us lunch at the range under a covered area; a good idea for students and instructors alike. This way students gain knowledge from a Q&A session and it saves time because the class start after lunch isn't delayed by stragglers. This also gave the students a chance to unwind and get to know each other.
After lunch we started working on multiple targets with some more team competition thrown in. I'm proud to say that although I was the youngest shooter on Team Old Guy by about 30 years, they carried our team to a win. We also worked on malfunction identification and clearance. Whereas before lunch the timer was merely a start signal (all the time in the world), after lunch time standards were added. The class shot another walk back drill on steel, though this time the target was 4-6 (I can't recall exactly) and ended at perhaps 25 yards. The last thing shot was man vs. man competition which resulted in an upset as the consistently strongest shooter of the day (member of Team Old Guy) was upset by a young upstart.
Bottom Line:
Would I recommend the course to a friend: Yes.
Would I take the course again: Yes.
Equipment:
The class was all Glocks except one M&P with what I understood to be Apex Tactical parts; no one had any serious issues. My dad, Chris, and I each shot around 300 rounds of PMC Bronze. I experienced one malfunction that was not purposefully induced. I shot a third generation G19 equipped with 10-8 Performance sights, a Vickers-TangoDown magazine release, and a Glockmeister grip plug. I had the serrated trigger replaced with a smooth part from a G17 since the last course I took and that yielded increased comfort. One thing to improve/change: my Smith Optics Aegis eye protection get uncomfortable for me when paired with my Peltor Tactical 6S hearing protection for hours. Not sure if better glasses or more comfortable hearing protection is called for, but something's got to give.
My dad fired a 2006 vintage CPO P226 on which Bruce Gray performed his Reduced Reset Comprehensive Duty Package and installed Trijicon three dot sights. No problems encountered, although my dad may be considering a pistol with one trigger pull, it took him an hour or so in the morning to get back on top of the DA/SA trigger. I'm urging dry fire as the cure for this rather than spending the money on a new platform.
My friend Chris used a new stock third generation G17 with five OEM magazines and experienced none of the issues that seem to be cropping up lately with third generation Glocks. That said, he's having steel sights, a Vickers-TangoDown magazine release, and slide release installed to increase ergonomics. Chris won most improved shooter.
All three of us used CompTac belt holsters and magazine carriers on Wilderness Tactical 5 stitch instructor belts.
*Pictures were taken and I assume will be posted at some point*
Date: 22 September 2012
Company: 914 Consulting LLC (http://www.914consulting.com)
Instructor: Christopher Hans Frank. Chris was friendly, professional, and funny. He made it clear this was a marksmanship class not a tactics class. He demonstrated what he was teaching on demand and was very attentive to each student throughout the day, offering constructive criticism that sometimes immediately improved performance. Chris Frank also left his ego someplace else, he immediately acknowledged when he made the rare mistake and made a teachable moment out of it.
Location: C2 Shooting Center (http://www.thec2center.com) in Virginia Beach, VA.
Weather: 83F, sunny, with a little breeze. A great day to be outside.
Who: My dad, my friend Chris, and me. My dad and I have taken TigerSwan's Intro to Pistol course. This was Chris's first formal instruction and he might have benefited from an NRA first steps pistol class first. I should have taken the time prior to the course to show him some basic gun handling such as when to use the slide release vs overhand release, ins-and-outs of magazine changes, etc. That said, he didn't slow the course down. Chris Frank was patient when he needed to be and busted chops when necessary. There was approximately 10 students in the class which seemed just about right for one instructor.
Where: The C2 Shooting Center is a solid facility. Brass has to be collected at the end, but that's not a deal breaker for me. My only complaint is the range didn't open up on time by no fault of Chris Frank's, students for another class were waiting outside when we arrived too.
We started off the day with safety briefing and introductions. Chris Frank informed us right up front that he doesn't carry a gun for a living and provided some history on how the VSM program (http://vickerstactical.com/training-by-larry-vickers/larry-vickers-regional-endorsed-instructors/) came into existence. The class comprised mostly newer civilian shooters with some security contractors sprinkled in. The emphasis on strong fundamentals was hammered right from the start and the point was made that advanced classes merely stress strong fundamentals under tighter time constraints with higher accuracy standards.
I apologize if some of of my nomenclature may not be exactly right. Throughout the class we fired at B8 targets with index cards stapled above on a silhouette style target. We fired five rounds fired at the index card from 3 yards to begin the day with the accuracy standard that you should be able to cover the group with your thumb. As we moved back throughout the day, accuracy standards were kept tight. Chris Frank used a timer to start many drills in an effort to desensitize us from getting nervous at the beep. This seemed to work for me, by the end of the day the beep just meant start, not a reason to get spun up. We moved on to cover stance, grip, sight alignment, magazine changes, and the draw. We also went over a partnered drill to teach trigger reset during recoil, something I need to keep working on. All three of us found the drill where a spent shell casing is placed on the front sight to be excellent. This drill combined with the ball and dummy drill both diagnoses and treats poor trigger control. The simple effectiveness is pretty impressive. Chris Frank taught us a five step draw which is an additional step than what I learned previously, but effective nonetheless.
Once the basics were covered in the morning, we engaged in a little group competition both in teams and a walk back drill on an 8 steel target. The last shooter in class made it back to about 35 yards.
Chris Frank provided us lunch at the range under a covered area; a good idea for students and instructors alike. This way students gain knowledge from a Q&A session and it saves time because the class start after lunch isn't delayed by stragglers. This also gave the students a chance to unwind and get to know each other.
After lunch we started working on multiple targets with some more team competition thrown in. I'm proud to say that although I was the youngest shooter on Team Old Guy by about 30 years, they carried our team to a win. We also worked on malfunction identification and clearance. Whereas before lunch the timer was merely a start signal (all the time in the world), after lunch time standards were added. The class shot another walk back drill on steel, though this time the target was 4-6 (I can't recall exactly) and ended at perhaps 25 yards. The last thing shot was man vs. man competition which resulted in an upset as the consistently strongest shooter of the day (member of Team Old Guy) was upset by a young upstart.
Bottom Line:
Would I recommend the course to a friend: Yes.
Would I take the course again: Yes.
Equipment:
The class was all Glocks except one M&P with what I understood to be Apex Tactical parts; no one had any serious issues. My dad, Chris, and I each shot around 300 rounds of PMC Bronze. I experienced one malfunction that was not purposefully induced. I shot a third generation G19 equipped with 10-8 Performance sights, a Vickers-TangoDown magazine release, and a Glockmeister grip plug. I had the serrated trigger replaced with a smooth part from a G17 since the last course I took and that yielded increased comfort. One thing to improve/change: my Smith Optics Aegis eye protection get uncomfortable for me when paired with my Peltor Tactical 6S hearing protection for hours. Not sure if better glasses or more comfortable hearing protection is called for, but something's got to give.
My dad fired a 2006 vintage CPO P226 on which Bruce Gray performed his Reduced Reset Comprehensive Duty Package and installed Trijicon three dot sights. No problems encountered, although my dad may be considering a pistol with one trigger pull, it took him an hour or so in the morning to get back on top of the DA/SA trigger. I'm urging dry fire as the cure for this rather than spending the money on a new platform.
My friend Chris used a new stock third generation G17 with five OEM magazines and experienced none of the issues that seem to be cropping up lately with third generation Glocks. That said, he's having steel sights, a Vickers-TangoDown magazine release, and slide release installed to increase ergonomics. Chris won most improved shooter.
All three of us used CompTac belt holsters and magazine carriers on Wilderness Tactical 5 stitch instructor belts.
*Pictures were taken and I assume will be posted at some point*