Wayneard3413
04-24-11, 16:09
Class: PFT Low Light Seminar
Location: Alderson WV
Instructor: Pat Goodale
Date: 23 Apr 2011
Preface: I have been helping out and serving as an AI for PFT for a little while now. I just wanted to put this out there in the interest of full disclosure before continuing on with the AAR.
The class consisted of eleven shooters, nine of which had attended the day's earlier Handgun I course. We had one shooter who came in just for this class and myself rounding out the roster.
The class started out with a short 30 minute or so classroom session that was led by the lead instructor for the evening, Pat Goodale. Pat went over the various handheld light techniques, the light use of continuum, weapons mounted lights, how to manage reloads and malfunctions in low/no light and some of the various lights currently on the market.
After that we moved outside to work over the various methods and try out accessing all of our gear to work out any hand jive issues in dry fire while we still had some ambient light. This gave everyone a chance to figure out which method they preferred before going hot. At this time the class was also introduced to the Rob Tackett and Bart Baker who would also be serving as instructors for the course.
We then moved up to range to get in some low light shooting using only the natural ambient light. It was at this time more than any other the shooters using night sights saw an advantage. You were able to identify the target and see his hands, waist and hands but your sights were getting harder to clearly pick up.
Once the relay fired a few evolutions we were able to go downrange and check our targets. It was apparent that you could still deliver solid hits even in this low light setting.
Then Pat ran a drill where he would light up the targets from the front allowing us to shoot of off his artificial light. We then did the same with him providing light from the sides of the target line. This allowed us to see how the various shadows could come into play.
The next drill had off the shooters lined up and Pat running his light from one end of the line to the other. When the center of his beam covered your target you were to draw and fire two shots. This simulated the light created from the headlights of a passing vehicle.
We then had a chance to use all of the various handheld techniques to see if the downrange result coincided with the technique we picked earlier in drive fire. We were also told not to become married to one particular technique as we would be faced with situations where we would have to use one or more of the others presented.
Next up we went down the line with each shooter firing two shots using either their handheld or weapons mounted light while the others were able to watch the muzzle flash and smoke produced by the various calibers and loads and how this can effect your visibility.
Up next was an individual drill. The shooter would move forward toward the target line with his handheld light in a searching manner. On command he would draw and begin engaging the target while moving to the rear.
We then moved over to the plate rack and had two shooters line up to clear their half of 6 plates. Although this is an individual drill as always the competitive nature of most of us starts to show. More than that it really helped to show that even though our lights produce plenty of spill our eyes tend to shoot towards the center of the beam and in turn so do our shots.
This wrapped up the square range portion of the class and the class was split into two relays for the remainder of the night.
My relay then went with Bart where we did more shooting on the move. On the threat command we would draw and begin engaging a quarter size steel IPSC style target beginning at the 25 yard line and moving up to the 8 and then back again. This gave us a chance to also work on reloading while on the move with a handheld thrown into the mix.
We then moved over to Rob's station where we would sprint approximately 35 yards to the plate rack before drawing and engaging the center two plates. We would then move offline to another firing point and drop the left two plates. The shooter would then move laterally to another position and drop the final two plates. This drill helped to get the blood pumping and also show that if you did a quick scan before moving you could make your way across the distance without using your light.
We then reported back to Bart where we worked on cover and concealment drills. First up was a vertical barricade where we had to deliver shots from standing and kneeling around either side of cover. Once you got your hits you moved laterally to a step wall barricade.
You would then have to work the barricade getting hits over and around cover from numerous positions such as squatting, kneeling, and lean out kneeling. You wrapped it up with two shots through a small port at the bottom of the barricade from a rollover prone position.
This drill really brought home the point that you had to be proficient at using the handheld in various positions to allow you to ID the target and your sights at the same time. If you have never tried to shoot a quarter steel at distance from the rollover prone position through a 6x6" port while trying to illuminate your target at the same time I will say that it is a humbling experience.
We then moved behind the shoothouse berm where Rob had a cruiser set up. The shooter would get behind the wheel of the car and then Rob would let you know there was a threat (generally by ripping off a few rounds downrange and beating on the roof of the car). You would then unass the car and engage a steel target at the 12 o'clock position from between the door and A post.
You would then continue to work your cover up to the front axle area and engage another steel target about 15 yards away. Continuing to the rear of the vehicle you would engage another target that was tucked in by the corner of the shoothouse.
This was the final drill of the night and was a great way to wrap it all up. This one drill showed the various tips and skills we picked up over the night. The use of cover, searching, moving the handheld in various positions in relation to your weapon and body, the dangers of splash back off of cover (amazing what 200 lumens off of a white car looks like) and more were all put together into a single drill.
There were several takeaways for me from this class.
The first was that I cannot always default to my weapons mounted light. Even if it is known that a "shooting solution" is needed the X300 on my pistol might not be the ideal tool for the job.
The second was that I can't marry myself to a technique simply because I like it. Although I SHOOT better using Harries that doesn't mean it is always the best tool when FIGHTING with my gun.
But I think overall the biggest takeaway was that fighting at night sucks. There are no two ways about. That said, it is up to us to train up to that very important skillset.
I will wrap up with a little bit of gear discussion.
For this class I ran my M&P9 with a X300 in a Peters Custom Holster Spada and a Comptac mag pouch on an Ares Gear Ranger belt. This has been my everyday rig for a little while now and I am very pleased with it.
For sights I am using a Warren Tactical fiber optic front with a plain rear. While the fiber optic isn't as easy to pick up in low light I still feel that the trade off is more than fair for it's increased speed in brighter settings. In no light it seemed like more of a wash to me.
My X300 has been well used for a good while now. It was been mounted to several pistols, carbines and even a shotgun for a short while.
Early on in the class it started giving me issues. It would start to flicker and then strobe a bit. I thought it was something on my end and possibly me hitting the switch. On the next to last drill it finally gave up the ghost and quit working completely. I will have to contact Surefire and see what can possibly be done.
My handheld for the course was a Surefire/VTAC L4. It is an Executive series light with a 200 lumen LED head and a Scout tailcap. It has been my favorite handheld for while now and it served me very well.
All in all I think every shooter present picked up something new. It is sometimes hard to find ranges that allow firing after dark but given the increased crimes in low and no light times it is a skill that we all could use more work on.
The more I work with Pat, Rob and Bart the more I am impressed. They compliment each other very well and keep things running quickly with very little to no downtime between drills. As a shooter I appreciate this as nobody wants to pay class tuition, ammo and travel costs only to stand around for hours on a range.
There are also obvious increased risk factors involved in a class like this and their ability to keep on top of shooters during some fairly dynamic drills is commendable.
Unfortunately there were no videos or "cool guy photos" taken in this class (not that there would be much to see in the near pitch blackness that is southern West Virgina)for me to post up.
Location: Alderson WV
Instructor: Pat Goodale
Date: 23 Apr 2011
Preface: I have been helping out and serving as an AI for PFT for a little while now. I just wanted to put this out there in the interest of full disclosure before continuing on with the AAR.
The class consisted of eleven shooters, nine of which had attended the day's earlier Handgun I course. We had one shooter who came in just for this class and myself rounding out the roster.
The class started out with a short 30 minute or so classroom session that was led by the lead instructor for the evening, Pat Goodale. Pat went over the various handheld light techniques, the light use of continuum, weapons mounted lights, how to manage reloads and malfunctions in low/no light and some of the various lights currently on the market.
After that we moved outside to work over the various methods and try out accessing all of our gear to work out any hand jive issues in dry fire while we still had some ambient light. This gave everyone a chance to figure out which method they preferred before going hot. At this time the class was also introduced to the Rob Tackett and Bart Baker who would also be serving as instructors for the course.
We then moved up to range to get in some low light shooting using only the natural ambient light. It was at this time more than any other the shooters using night sights saw an advantage. You were able to identify the target and see his hands, waist and hands but your sights were getting harder to clearly pick up.
Once the relay fired a few evolutions we were able to go downrange and check our targets. It was apparent that you could still deliver solid hits even in this low light setting.
Then Pat ran a drill where he would light up the targets from the front allowing us to shoot of off his artificial light. We then did the same with him providing light from the sides of the target line. This allowed us to see how the various shadows could come into play.
The next drill had off the shooters lined up and Pat running his light from one end of the line to the other. When the center of his beam covered your target you were to draw and fire two shots. This simulated the light created from the headlights of a passing vehicle.
We then had a chance to use all of the various handheld techniques to see if the downrange result coincided with the technique we picked earlier in drive fire. We were also told not to become married to one particular technique as we would be faced with situations where we would have to use one or more of the others presented.
Next up we went down the line with each shooter firing two shots using either their handheld or weapons mounted light while the others were able to watch the muzzle flash and smoke produced by the various calibers and loads and how this can effect your visibility.
Up next was an individual drill. The shooter would move forward toward the target line with his handheld light in a searching manner. On command he would draw and begin engaging the target while moving to the rear.
We then moved over to the plate rack and had two shooters line up to clear their half of 6 plates. Although this is an individual drill as always the competitive nature of most of us starts to show. More than that it really helped to show that even though our lights produce plenty of spill our eyes tend to shoot towards the center of the beam and in turn so do our shots.
This wrapped up the square range portion of the class and the class was split into two relays for the remainder of the night.
My relay then went with Bart where we did more shooting on the move. On the threat command we would draw and begin engaging a quarter size steel IPSC style target beginning at the 25 yard line and moving up to the 8 and then back again. This gave us a chance to also work on reloading while on the move with a handheld thrown into the mix.
We then moved over to Rob's station where we would sprint approximately 35 yards to the plate rack before drawing and engaging the center two plates. We would then move offline to another firing point and drop the left two plates. The shooter would then move laterally to another position and drop the final two plates. This drill helped to get the blood pumping and also show that if you did a quick scan before moving you could make your way across the distance without using your light.
We then reported back to Bart where we worked on cover and concealment drills. First up was a vertical barricade where we had to deliver shots from standing and kneeling around either side of cover. Once you got your hits you moved laterally to a step wall barricade.
You would then have to work the barricade getting hits over and around cover from numerous positions such as squatting, kneeling, and lean out kneeling. You wrapped it up with two shots through a small port at the bottom of the barricade from a rollover prone position.
This drill really brought home the point that you had to be proficient at using the handheld in various positions to allow you to ID the target and your sights at the same time. If you have never tried to shoot a quarter steel at distance from the rollover prone position through a 6x6" port while trying to illuminate your target at the same time I will say that it is a humbling experience.
We then moved behind the shoothouse berm where Rob had a cruiser set up. The shooter would get behind the wheel of the car and then Rob would let you know there was a threat (generally by ripping off a few rounds downrange and beating on the roof of the car). You would then unass the car and engage a steel target at the 12 o'clock position from between the door and A post.
You would then continue to work your cover up to the front axle area and engage another steel target about 15 yards away. Continuing to the rear of the vehicle you would engage another target that was tucked in by the corner of the shoothouse.
This was the final drill of the night and was a great way to wrap it all up. This one drill showed the various tips and skills we picked up over the night. The use of cover, searching, moving the handheld in various positions in relation to your weapon and body, the dangers of splash back off of cover (amazing what 200 lumens off of a white car looks like) and more were all put together into a single drill.
There were several takeaways for me from this class.
The first was that I cannot always default to my weapons mounted light. Even if it is known that a "shooting solution" is needed the X300 on my pistol might not be the ideal tool for the job.
The second was that I can't marry myself to a technique simply because I like it. Although I SHOOT better using Harries that doesn't mean it is always the best tool when FIGHTING with my gun.
But I think overall the biggest takeaway was that fighting at night sucks. There are no two ways about. That said, it is up to us to train up to that very important skillset.
I will wrap up with a little bit of gear discussion.
For this class I ran my M&P9 with a X300 in a Peters Custom Holster Spada and a Comptac mag pouch on an Ares Gear Ranger belt. This has been my everyday rig for a little while now and I am very pleased with it.
For sights I am using a Warren Tactical fiber optic front with a plain rear. While the fiber optic isn't as easy to pick up in low light I still feel that the trade off is more than fair for it's increased speed in brighter settings. In no light it seemed like more of a wash to me.
My X300 has been well used for a good while now. It was been mounted to several pistols, carbines and even a shotgun for a short while.
Early on in the class it started giving me issues. It would start to flicker and then strobe a bit. I thought it was something on my end and possibly me hitting the switch. On the next to last drill it finally gave up the ghost and quit working completely. I will have to contact Surefire and see what can possibly be done.
My handheld for the course was a Surefire/VTAC L4. It is an Executive series light with a 200 lumen LED head and a Scout tailcap. It has been my favorite handheld for while now and it served me very well.
All in all I think every shooter present picked up something new. It is sometimes hard to find ranges that allow firing after dark but given the increased crimes in low and no light times it is a skill that we all could use more work on.
The more I work with Pat, Rob and Bart the more I am impressed. They compliment each other very well and keep things running quickly with very little to no downtime between drills. As a shooter I appreciate this as nobody wants to pay class tuition, ammo and travel costs only to stand around for hours on a range.
There are also obvious increased risk factors involved in a class like this and their ability to keep on top of shooters during some fairly dynamic drills is commendable.
Unfortunately there were no videos or "cool guy photos" taken in this class (not that there would be much to see in the near pitch blackness that is southern West Virgina)for me to post up.