Heavy Metal
09-21-11, 09:41
Ok, this is my first real AAR so please bear with me.
Let me start of by stating this is not my first LAV class by any stretch. My first was Larry’s initial civilian AK class in March of 2007. Even though that was a Warsaw Pact-specific Carbine Class, Larry stopped the class when he (very rightly) realized that many in the class were struggling with the Handgun transition part. Namely, our pistol shooting abilities left a whole lot to be desired. Mine was cringe-worthy at best.
Larry likes to say that he is not necessarily there to give you what you want but what you need. The handgun training he provided the class was easily worth the price of admission alone. In my case, several times the price. I wasn’t shooting groups, I was shooting shotgun-like patterns. Up to that moment, in spite of exposure to formal firearms training provided by the US Army, I hadn’t received one iota of professional handgun instruction. Taking what Larry showed me about the absolute necessity for proper trigger control and the basic tools to practice it, I noticed a dramatic and steady improvement in my shooting abilities that took me from abysmal to passable in the span of a year. I was hooked on the Vickers Shooting Method. Simply put, if you make the effort to apply the training tools Larry provided in regular practice, it will work and work dramatically.
Training Day One:
There were 13 shooters in this class total, coming from a variety of backgrounds. There were representatives of the media there conducting research for future articles and features on this particular class. The weather was hot but not insanely so as it was at an earlier US Training Center based class this summer. Not bad for Moyock but plenty of hydration was still a must. The class was conducted at the US Training Center in Moyock, NC (Formerly Blackwater). This is a world-class facility with advanced ranges that allowed shooting on active and moving targets. The class began at 08:30 on Friday the 9th of September. The weather co-operated the entire three days of the class.
The overwhelming majority of the class was shooting Glock variants with a couple of 1911 variants, a Browning Hi-Power and one shooter switching between a Sig, a Glock and a Steyr if memory serves. One student, Subzero, was running a Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm.
If I had to sum up Larry’s philosophy about mastering the handgun in two words, it would be Trigger Control. Everything you do in his class ultimately builds on that foundation. And like any good builder, that is right where Larry starts out. The first drill of the first day was a trigger control drill. We started out with dry fire exercises. The first was dry fire with a spent case placed on the front sight. The point was to have a smooth, snatch-free pull that did not cause the case to fall from the front sight. The second drill was called the Ball and Dummy drill. This drill was performed with the assistance of a partner. Your partner would load the weapon (or not load the weapon) unbeknownst to you. At the three yard line, you took aim at the X in the X-ring or a Paster. The point was to introduce uncertainty into the process and take away the knowledge of an empty gun that comes with dry fire only. This allowed you to see whether your partner was snatching the trigger and causing a flinch or a miss. If you snatched the trigger, you then executed ten perfect dry-fires. This is an immediate correction technique that Larry teaches to ‘unprogram’ that flinch virus before it can form a training scar or to help remove a pre-existing training scar.
Larry then took us through very clever advanced varations of this drill that Larry invented to add further pressure to the shooter and continue to progress him out of his comfort zone. If you want this, you are going to have to go to see the man himself to get it as it is his exclusive trademark drill found only in Vickers classes. You should incorporate these drills into every training session. In the absence of a partner, pre-loaded mags with dummy rounds inserted can be used.
Larry also covered his thoughts on the mechanics of a proper drawstroke. Making mention of the importance of slowing down to achieve a proper grip prior to withdrawing the pistol from the holster. Going full-speed to reach the holster, half-speed while acquiring your master grip and full speed out of the holster to the target. He also discusses taking the 1st stage of slack out of the trigger during the press-out after one has committed to making the shot. He discusses the thumbs-forward clamshell grip too.
Next covered was the Trigger Reset. The emphasis was placed on achieving reset during the recoil stroke of the pistol’s cycle. This makes it possible to remove the 1st stage of slack from the trigger, allowing you to be to break the follow-up shot as soon as your sight picture is finalized and not having to waste valuable time and feeling compelled to rush (and snatch) the shot. The way to achieve this is to release most of your tension on your trigger finger as soon as the shot is broken. This allows the trigger return spring to reset the trigger AND your finger to the start of the second stage.
Reloads were next. There was a brief discussion of the difference between reloads with retention and emergency ‘speed’ reloads. Larry also emphasized due to the close range nature of a pistol fight, that it was folly to try and retain magazines. The important thing is the gun has stopped working and that problem needs to be corrected ASAP by getting Ammo back into the gun as swiftly as possible.
The next drill was to fire one chambered round with an empty mag in the pistol. This allowed the weapon to fire once and go to slidelock. As soon as the slide locks to the rear, the pistol is rotated and the mag release depressed as the pistol is being pulled closer and in front of your upper torso/lower head area into what is called the workspace. The pistol should be held at a level where you can look downrange thru the trigger guard or a bit lower. The now empty magwell should be pointed at the spot on your belt where the emergency speed reload is retained. At this point, a master grip should now be re-established with the firing hand. The point is to have as short and direct a path as possible for the ammo to reach the gun. The support hand intercepts the beltline and sweeps your palm back to the magazine and withdraws the magazine with the index finger touching the nose of the top round while it (the index finger) is aligned along the front spine of the mag. Then the magazine is guided back into the mag well and when the magazine is fully inserted, the support hand thumb reaches-up, contacts the slide release and disengages it. The final step is to press out on target while simultaneously rotating your support hand into the proper position.
Larry then ran us through a weak hand, strong hand, two hand drill on an NRA B-8 Target Center. Larry uses this target center to enforce an accuracy standard and help prevent us from putting shots all over the target. The standard was to hold all shots in the black 5 inch bull if at all possible. You start at 5 yards weak hand and shoot 5 rounds at the target, then you move back to 10 yards and fire 5 strong hand only. Lastly, you move back to 15 years and fire 10 rounds with a two-hand grip.
We finished Training Day One by firing ten shots from the low ready at three yards using ten presentations. The point of aim was a single paster located on the head of the target. The objective was one ragged hole.
Training Day Two:
For Training Day Two, we got into using some of the advanced features of the range. We utilized the falling steel plates and the moving one square foot steel plate (hereafter know as the 'mover'). We spent most of the day working on the steel. Larry's philosophy is to use steel sparingly as it can breed bad habits. He emphasized that most shooting practice should be done on paper to enforce a more accountable accuracy standard.
Larry aslo introduced team drills into the mix to force us to 'step up our game'. Larry also introduced us to the use of cover with the introduction of Barricades. We shot a series of timed drills on the plates and mover. by the time we were done, the steel was kicking my ass. I was feeling a bit under the weather that day too.
Larry also conducted a walk-back drill near lunchtime. The class managed to make it as far back as the road before everybody but one shooter was eliminated. That was around 70 yards or so IIRC. Walk-back drills are where the shooter shoots at a stationary steel target, in this case a 1sq ft piece of steel under a set of rules. Once the shooter misses both the main and make up shot, he is eliminated and the class moves back another 15 or so yards and repeats. The drill starts around 40 yards and works back from there. Larry himself shot this drill like a machine.
To finish day two, we went back to the NRA paper bulls on cardboard IPSC targets. We started with two stacked bulls at three yards. We got one shot on each bull. Going out of the black or having the last shot DQed you. After each evolution, the standing shooters would take one step back and repeat. Finally, it came down to one Glock, one 1911 and one M&P shooter. Don't tell Gaston but I let Team Glock down. SubZero totally kicked-ass for Team S&W and won the drill.
Training Day Three:
The theme for day three was shooting on the move(SOTM). Larry covered the fundamentals of SOTM like the heel to toe rolling motion and keeping your joints flexible. He emphasized keeping your joints unlocked at the knees and elbows to absorb the shock of walking. Larry used the example of a Waiter carrying a cup of coffee without spilling it to illustrate the level of flex and control needed for the skill. He then mentioned the gun should float in a figure-8 type motion in your field of view. Next covered was the concept of the 'wobble zone' and what constitutes an acceptable sight picture for accurate hits while SOTM. We practiced this skill while moving forward and backwards. As always, an accuracy standard was enforced on the students, this time all shots must fall at least somewhere inside the square of the B center target.
Another walk-back drill took us into the road and almost into the drainage ditch behind it. This one took a little more time to find a winner. IIRC, SubZero won this one.
A variety of team drills were introduced using shooting on the move and the steel targets. One diabolical exercise Larry had us do was engage the mover while we walked a 'figure-8' pattern around two stationary objects where one was set in front of the other. If that didn't push you out of your comfort zone, nothing would. We also had some more competition drills on the steel plates to finish the day.
One thing about Vickers Tactical classes, you will leave feeling you got the most training squeezed out of every round fired and that every round had a purpose. You will not feel you were just throwing lead and making noise for its own sake. Larry is into improving the shooters skills and not into ballistic masturbation theatre.
Shooting at the range last weekend, I feel that I am able to shoot faster for the same level of accuracy compared to the weekend before the class. I am convinced I have gone up a tick because of it.
It was great meeeting new people and seeing old friends again. Special thanks to Larry, Paul and Grey Group. Another outstanding class, I look forward with anticipation to the Home Defense class coming up at USTC in November.
Let me start of by stating this is not my first LAV class by any stretch. My first was Larry’s initial civilian AK class in March of 2007. Even though that was a Warsaw Pact-specific Carbine Class, Larry stopped the class when he (very rightly) realized that many in the class were struggling with the Handgun transition part. Namely, our pistol shooting abilities left a whole lot to be desired. Mine was cringe-worthy at best.
Larry likes to say that he is not necessarily there to give you what you want but what you need. The handgun training he provided the class was easily worth the price of admission alone. In my case, several times the price. I wasn’t shooting groups, I was shooting shotgun-like patterns. Up to that moment, in spite of exposure to formal firearms training provided by the US Army, I hadn’t received one iota of professional handgun instruction. Taking what Larry showed me about the absolute necessity for proper trigger control and the basic tools to practice it, I noticed a dramatic and steady improvement in my shooting abilities that took me from abysmal to passable in the span of a year. I was hooked on the Vickers Shooting Method. Simply put, if you make the effort to apply the training tools Larry provided in regular practice, it will work and work dramatically.
Training Day One:
There were 13 shooters in this class total, coming from a variety of backgrounds. There were representatives of the media there conducting research for future articles and features on this particular class. The weather was hot but not insanely so as it was at an earlier US Training Center based class this summer. Not bad for Moyock but plenty of hydration was still a must. The class was conducted at the US Training Center in Moyock, NC (Formerly Blackwater). This is a world-class facility with advanced ranges that allowed shooting on active and moving targets. The class began at 08:30 on Friday the 9th of September. The weather co-operated the entire three days of the class.
The overwhelming majority of the class was shooting Glock variants with a couple of 1911 variants, a Browning Hi-Power and one shooter switching between a Sig, a Glock and a Steyr if memory serves. One student, Subzero, was running a Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm.
If I had to sum up Larry’s philosophy about mastering the handgun in two words, it would be Trigger Control. Everything you do in his class ultimately builds on that foundation. And like any good builder, that is right where Larry starts out. The first drill of the first day was a trigger control drill. We started out with dry fire exercises. The first was dry fire with a spent case placed on the front sight. The point was to have a smooth, snatch-free pull that did not cause the case to fall from the front sight. The second drill was called the Ball and Dummy drill. This drill was performed with the assistance of a partner. Your partner would load the weapon (or not load the weapon) unbeknownst to you. At the three yard line, you took aim at the X in the X-ring or a Paster. The point was to introduce uncertainty into the process and take away the knowledge of an empty gun that comes with dry fire only. This allowed you to see whether your partner was snatching the trigger and causing a flinch or a miss. If you snatched the trigger, you then executed ten perfect dry-fires. This is an immediate correction technique that Larry teaches to ‘unprogram’ that flinch virus before it can form a training scar or to help remove a pre-existing training scar.
Larry then took us through very clever advanced varations of this drill that Larry invented to add further pressure to the shooter and continue to progress him out of his comfort zone. If you want this, you are going to have to go to see the man himself to get it as it is his exclusive trademark drill found only in Vickers classes. You should incorporate these drills into every training session. In the absence of a partner, pre-loaded mags with dummy rounds inserted can be used.
Larry also covered his thoughts on the mechanics of a proper drawstroke. Making mention of the importance of slowing down to achieve a proper grip prior to withdrawing the pistol from the holster. Going full-speed to reach the holster, half-speed while acquiring your master grip and full speed out of the holster to the target. He also discusses taking the 1st stage of slack out of the trigger during the press-out after one has committed to making the shot. He discusses the thumbs-forward clamshell grip too.
Next covered was the Trigger Reset. The emphasis was placed on achieving reset during the recoil stroke of the pistol’s cycle. This makes it possible to remove the 1st stage of slack from the trigger, allowing you to be to break the follow-up shot as soon as your sight picture is finalized and not having to waste valuable time and feeling compelled to rush (and snatch) the shot. The way to achieve this is to release most of your tension on your trigger finger as soon as the shot is broken. This allows the trigger return spring to reset the trigger AND your finger to the start of the second stage.
Reloads were next. There was a brief discussion of the difference between reloads with retention and emergency ‘speed’ reloads. Larry also emphasized due to the close range nature of a pistol fight, that it was folly to try and retain magazines. The important thing is the gun has stopped working and that problem needs to be corrected ASAP by getting Ammo back into the gun as swiftly as possible.
The next drill was to fire one chambered round with an empty mag in the pistol. This allowed the weapon to fire once and go to slidelock. As soon as the slide locks to the rear, the pistol is rotated and the mag release depressed as the pistol is being pulled closer and in front of your upper torso/lower head area into what is called the workspace. The pistol should be held at a level where you can look downrange thru the trigger guard or a bit lower. The now empty magwell should be pointed at the spot on your belt where the emergency speed reload is retained. At this point, a master grip should now be re-established with the firing hand. The point is to have as short and direct a path as possible for the ammo to reach the gun. The support hand intercepts the beltline and sweeps your palm back to the magazine and withdraws the magazine with the index finger touching the nose of the top round while it (the index finger) is aligned along the front spine of the mag. Then the magazine is guided back into the mag well and when the magazine is fully inserted, the support hand thumb reaches-up, contacts the slide release and disengages it. The final step is to press out on target while simultaneously rotating your support hand into the proper position.
Larry then ran us through a weak hand, strong hand, two hand drill on an NRA B-8 Target Center. Larry uses this target center to enforce an accuracy standard and help prevent us from putting shots all over the target. The standard was to hold all shots in the black 5 inch bull if at all possible. You start at 5 yards weak hand and shoot 5 rounds at the target, then you move back to 10 yards and fire 5 strong hand only. Lastly, you move back to 15 years and fire 10 rounds with a two-hand grip.
We finished Training Day One by firing ten shots from the low ready at three yards using ten presentations. The point of aim was a single paster located on the head of the target. The objective was one ragged hole.
Training Day Two:
For Training Day Two, we got into using some of the advanced features of the range. We utilized the falling steel plates and the moving one square foot steel plate (hereafter know as the 'mover'). We spent most of the day working on the steel. Larry's philosophy is to use steel sparingly as it can breed bad habits. He emphasized that most shooting practice should be done on paper to enforce a more accountable accuracy standard.
Larry aslo introduced team drills into the mix to force us to 'step up our game'. Larry also introduced us to the use of cover with the introduction of Barricades. We shot a series of timed drills on the plates and mover. by the time we were done, the steel was kicking my ass. I was feeling a bit under the weather that day too.
Larry also conducted a walk-back drill near lunchtime. The class managed to make it as far back as the road before everybody but one shooter was eliminated. That was around 70 yards or so IIRC. Walk-back drills are where the shooter shoots at a stationary steel target, in this case a 1sq ft piece of steel under a set of rules. Once the shooter misses both the main and make up shot, he is eliminated and the class moves back another 15 or so yards and repeats. The drill starts around 40 yards and works back from there. Larry himself shot this drill like a machine.
To finish day two, we went back to the NRA paper bulls on cardboard IPSC targets. We started with two stacked bulls at three yards. We got one shot on each bull. Going out of the black or having the last shot DQed you. After each evolution, the standing shooters would take one step back and repeat. Finally, it came down to one Glock, one 1911 and one M&P shooter. Don't tell Gaston but I let Team Glock down. SubZero totally kicked-ass for Team S&W and won the drill.
Training Day Three:
The theme for day three was shooting on the move(SOTM). Larry covered the fundamentals of SOTM like the heel to toe rolling motion and keeping your joints flexible. He emphasized keeping your joints unlocked at the knees and elbows to absorb the shock of walking. Larry used the example of a Waiter carrying a cup of coffee without spilling it to illustrate the level of flex and control needed for the skill. He then mentioned the gun should float in a figure-8 type motion in your field of view. Next covered was the concept of the 'wobble zone' and what constitutes an acceptable sight picture for accurate hits while SOTM. We practiced this skill while moving forward and backwards. As always, an accuracy standard was enforced on the students, this time all shots must fall at least somewhere inside the square of the B center target.
Another walk-back drill took us into the road and almost into the drainage ditch behind it. This one took a little more time to find a winner. IIRC, SubZero won this one.
A variety of team drills were introduced using shooting on the move and the steel targets. One diabolical exercise Larry had us do was engage the mover while we walked a 'figure-8' pattern around two stationary objects where one was set in front of the other. If that didn't push you out of your comfort zone, nothing would. We also had some more competition drills on the steel plates to finish the day.
One thing about Vickers Tactical classes, you will leave feeling you got the most training squeezed out of every round fired and that every round had a purpose. You will not feel you were just throwing lead and making noise for its own sake. Larry is into improving the shooters skills and not into ballistic masturbation theatre.
Shooting at the range last weekend, I feel that I am able to shoot faster for the same level of accuracy compared to the weekend before the class. I am convinced I have gone up a tick because of it.
It was great meeeting new people and seeing old friends again. Special thanks to Larry, Paul and Grey Group. Another outstanding class, I look forward with anticipation to the Home Defense class coming up at USTC in November.