chris914
02-21-11, 21:13
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/va_dinger/vickers-tactical-logo.jpg
Vickers Tactical
www.vickerstactical.com
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/va_dinger/logo.jpg
Grey Group Training:
www.greygrouptraining.com
Trying to sum up all of what this class has going for it is a hard thing to do but this is my two cents worth:
The class was a mix of mainly civilians with some LE/Mil types as well. Pistols ranged from the basic Mil-Spec Springfield to the incredably nice Wilson Supergrade. I do have to say that the newest offering from Colt, the Rail Gun looks really good and shoots really good.
http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/Vickers%201911%20Feb%202011/158.jpg
I shot a pair of Springfields (one a Mil-Spec, the other a 9mm with fixed Novak sights), a Rock River and my trusty Series 1 Kimber Custom. All performed well save the Mil-Spec but more on that later.
TD 1:
The day started out blustery and chilly with winds gusting up to 25 mph. This wind made keeping the targets on the backers a chore till the 100 mph tape came out. After some judicial use of sticky stuff all was better. LAV gave his signature safety brief emphasizing the real world use of firearms. After the safety brief, it was on to some trigger control exercises. Placing a case on the front sight and dry firing the pistols brought a realization to more than a few shooters that this was going to be a real learning experience straight out of the gate. We quickly moved on to various Ball & Dummy drills including one of my favorite drills Command Fire Ball & Dummy. For those of you that may not know this drill, the deal is that you start on target with trigger slack out and on the timer’s beep you pull the trigger. Sounds easy but this one is a real mofo. It will quickly allow El Snatcho to creep in if you are not careful. After the Ball & Dummy drills, we went on to other items like the reload and presenting the pistol from the holster. Each drill was demonstrated by LAV. Then LAV would walk the line and provide corrective input to each shooter as it was needed. We shot a few team drills and a walk back drill (won by Larry with the laser accurate Wilson Combat Tactical Supergrade)
http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/Vickers%201911%20Feb%202011/242.jpg
LAV also brought out a back up in 9mm. Both of these pistols show that Wilson Combat knows a thing or two about the 1911.
http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/Vickers%201911%20Feb%202011/244.jpg
We finished off TD 1 with some shooting on the move. Anyone that has not done this is going to get a rude awakening when you try it the first time. It is not as easy as it seems in the movies. That being said, watching LAV demo this will just make you sick. He just keeps putting the holes in the black part of the target.
TD 2:
Training day 2 started with the classroom portion of the class.
http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/Vickers%201911%20Feb%202011/129.jpg
Once the class was assembled, LAV took us through the complete detail strip of a 1911 while fielding questions and providing colorful analysis of all things 1911. LAV then offered his deft touch with a belt sander to anyone whose 1911 did not meet the standards set forth. LAV used the tool to provide a quick deburr of the recoil spring guide or shorten a really extended ejector or two. LAV also advised student on what to check for and how to conduct bench tests of the various components. This was followed up with some tips for reassembling the 1911 including the Colt Series 80 and Kimber/Smith & Wesson (Schwartz) firing pin safeties. This was not a quick down and dirty type of disassembly of a 1911 but a thorough well explained venture that left no stone unturned. What can I say, LAV knows the 1911. This portion of the class really separated the enthusiasts from the tire kickers. The tire kickers were quite happy to go back to their Glocks while the enthusiasts were begging for more. Most in the class were of the latter variety.
After a quick lunch, we began with the field function check of their 1911 pistol. Each student completed this under the watchful eye of LAV. Some pistols did not do so well. My Springfield Mil-Spec did not pass the extractor test. I will be tweaking it more and conducting the test again soon. I am glad that this is not my daily carry pistol. Following the completion of the function check came the JV (15 yard) version of the dreaded “Humbler” aka the 700 point aggregate (minus the prone portion so in truth it would be the 600 point aggregate with modified scoring). This drill, shot at 25 yards, has been used at the Unit as both a point of pride and a measure of a shooter’s abilities. Even at 15 yards it is a true test. Some shooters shot this drill well, others (myself included) have had better drills. We finished off the day with some team drills on steel at about 7 yards.
All in all, this class was a great chance to learn more about a truly great piece of history from an instructor that has no equal on this platform.
Thanks go out to Josh and Paul at Grey Group for doing the heavy lifting in setting up this class, C2 for hosting it, Justin from Colt for hooking Paul up with a really nice blaster and last but not least Larry Vickers for helping keep "The world's finest fighting handgun" alive.
Oops! I almost forgot to mention that some of the great folks in attendance including:
The guys from Arc'teryx http://www.arcteryx.com/?EN came down from the Great White North for some instruction on the 1911 from the master. If you have never seen the gear that these guys put out you are missing the boat on some of the finest apparel out there.
Stephen from Blue Force Gear also came up with the Grey Group guys. Blue Force Gear makes some of the finest kit money can buy including the best carbine sling in the world.
http://www.blueforcegear.com/
John from Aimpoint came out as well. He is an excellant shooter by the way. http://www.aimpoint.com/us/
We also had a chance to use a new target during our walk back drill. The target is a quick self-resetting adaptable plate by Strike Mark sniper targets http://strikemark.com/. There targets are really nice. They are some of the quickest resetting targets out there bar none. I hope to shoot at these targets again in the future. Thanks again to Yanne for bringing that out.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/va_dinger/logo.jpg
www.greygrouptraining.com
http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/400_C2_Logo_Center_Crop_with_lettering.jpg
C2 Shooting Center
www.virginiashootingrange.com
Vickers Tactical
www.vickerstactical.com
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/va_dinger/logo.jpg
Grey Group Training:
www.greygrouptraining.com
Trying to sum up all of what this class has going for it is a hard thing to do but this is my two cents worth:
The class was a mix of mainly civilians with some LE/Mil types as well. Pistols ranged from the basic Mil-Spec Springfield to the incredably nice Wilson Supergrade. I do have to say that the newest offering from Colt, the Rail Gun looks really good and shoots really good.
http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/Vickers%201911%20Feb%202011/158.jpg
I shot a pair of Springfields (one a Mil-Spec, the other a 9mm with fixed Novak sights), a Rock River and my trusty Series 1 Kimber Custom. All performed well save the Mil-Spec but more on that later.
TD 1:
The day started out blustery and chilly with winds gusting up to 25 mph. This wind made keeping the targets on the backers a chore till the 100 mph tape came out. After some judicial use of sticky stuff all was better. LAV gave his signature safety brief emphasizing the real world use of firearms. After the safety brief, it was on to some trigger control exercises. Placing a case on the front sight and dry firing the pistols brought a realization to more than a few shooters that this was going to be a real learning experience straight out of the gate. We quickly moved on to various Ball & Dummy drills including one of my favorite drills Command Fire Ball & Dummy. For those of you that may not know this drill, the deal is that you start on target with trigger slack out and on the timer’s beep you pull the trigger. Sounds easy but this one is a real mofo. It will quickly allow El Snatcho to creep in if you are not careful. After the Ball & Dummy drills, we went on to other items like the reload and presenting the pistol from the holster. Each drill was demonstrated by LAV. Then LAV would walk the line and provide corrective input to each shooter as it was needed. We shot a few team drills and a walk back drill (won by Larry with the laser accurate Wilson Combat Tactical Supergrade)
http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/Vickers%201911%20Feb%202011/242.jpg
LAV also brought out a back up in 9mm. Both of these pistols show that Wilson Combat knows a thing or two about the 1911.
http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/Vickers%201911%20Feb%202011/244.jpg
We finished off TD 1 with some shooting on the move. Anyone that has not done this is going to get a rude awakening when you try it the first time. It is not as easy as it seems in the movies. That being said, watching LAV demo this will just make you sick. He just keeps putting the holes in the black part of the target.
TD 2:
Training day 2 started with the classroom portion of the class.
http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/Vickers%201911%20Feb%202011/129.jpg
Once the class was assembled, LAV took us through the complete detail strip of a 1911 while fielding questions and providing colorful analysis of all things 1911. LAV then offered his deft touch with a belt sander to anyone whose 1911 did not meet the standards set forth. LAV used the tool to provide a quick deburr of the recoil spring guide or shorten a really extended ejector or two. LAV also advised student on what to check for and how to conduct bench tests of the various components. This was followed up with some tips for reassembling the 1911 including the Colt Series 80 and Kimber/Smith & Wesson (Schwartz) firing pin safeties. This was not a quick down and dirty type of disassembly of a 1911 but a thorough well explained venture that left no stone unturned. What can I say, LAV knows the 1911. This portion of the class really separated the enthusiasts from the tire kickers. The tire kickers were quite happy to go back to their Glocks while the enthusiasts were begging for more. Most in the class were of the latter variety.
After a quick lunch, we began with the field function check of their 1911 pistol. Each student completed this under the watchful eye of LAV. Some pistols did not do so well. My Springfield Mil-Spec did not pass the extractor test. I will be tweaking it more and conducting the test again soon. I am glad that this is not my daily carry pistol. Following the completion of the function check came the JV (15 yard) version of the dreaded “Humbler” aka the 700 point aggregate (minus the prone portion so in truth it would be the 600 point aggregate with modified scoring). This drill, shot at 25 yards, has been used at the Unit as both a point of pride and a measure of a shooter’s abilities. Even at 15 yards it is a true test. Some shooters shot this drill well, others (myself included) have had better drills. We finished off the day with some team drills on steel at about 7 yards.
All in all, this class was a great chance to learn more about a truly great piece of history from an instructor that has no equal on this platform.
Thanks go out to Josh and Paul at Grey Group for doing the heavy lifting in setting up this class, C2 for hosting it, Justin from Colt for hooking Paul up with a really nice blaster and last but not least Larry Vickers for helping keep "The world's finest fighting handgun" alive.
Oops! I almost forgot to mention that some of the great folks in attendance including:
The guys from Arc'teryx http://www.arcteryx.com/?EN came down from the Great White North for some instruction on the 1911 from the master. If you have never seen the gear that these guys put out you are missing the boat on some of the finest apparel out there.
Stephen from Blue Force Gear also came up with the Grey Group guys. Blue Force Gear makes some of the finest kit money can buy including the best carbine sling in the world.
http://www.blueforcegear.com/
John from Aimpoint came out as well. He is an excellant shooter by the way. http://www.aimpoint.com/us/
We also had a chance to use a new target during our walk back drill. The target is a quick self-resetting adaptable plate by Strike Mark sniper targets http://strikemark.com/. There targets are really nice. They are some of the quickest resetting targets out there bar none. I hope to shoot at these targets again in the future. Thanks again to Yanne for bringing that out.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v74/va_dinger/logo.jpg
www.greygrouptraining.com
http://i846.photobucket.com/albums/ab25/greygroupcommunity/400_C2_Logo_Center_Crop_with_lettering.jpg
C2 Shooting Center
www.virginiashootingrange.com