Vickers Tactical Advanced Pistol/Carbine -- 7/11/08 AAR

[John_Wayne777]

Note: My recollections here are a bit fuzzy. I might have some of the drills out of order…if so, someone please correct me.

Day 1 –

Training day one was dedicated entirely to pistol instruction…something it turns out most of us needed pretty badly. Mr. Vickers began the day by having us partner up for standard ball and dummy drills. We also did timed ball and dummy drills and command ball and dummy drills, both of which ratcheted up the pressure on the shooter. Mr. Vickers also had us do some dry-fire trigger reset work. We then did a (don’t call it a) walkback drill where yours truly managed to flame out in spectacular fashion, scoring precisely ZERO hits on the steel target.

We then moved on to command drills, coming up from the low ready on command and firing a proscribed number of rounds with proper followthrough, then a scan and assess. For those who don’t know what “proper followthrough” is, I’ll explain. In real life there won’t be a set number of rounds you shoot to stop a bad guy. You’ll have to shoot a threat until the threat stops, meaning that after every shot you should be prepared to deliver another one if it is necessary. This means re-acquiring the sights and preparing to properly squeeze the trigger again. Often on the range you see guys shoot the set number of shots and then instantly drop the weapon off-target as soon as the last shot in the string hits the paper. This is another one of those bad range habits that desperately needs to be broken. I’ve often said that there’s no prize for being the first guy back in the holster, (which is certainly a true statement…) frankly dropping the weapon instantly after that last shot in the string is just a more subtle form of being the first guy back in the holster. To borrow one of Mr. Vickers’ pet phrases, I need to “delete that sh*t”.

One of the things I appreciate about Mr. Vickers’ instruction is that he doesn’t let you get away with “little things” like that. His instruction is based on the idea that you are preparing to use a weapon in a situation where some dumbass is trying to kill you and he tries his best to get you to approach every aspect of your shooting from that perspective. To some it may seem like no big deal if someone doesn’t do a proper followthrough…but if the paper target was instead some sort of scumbag intent on doing you harm and you drop your weapon after three shots, you are putting yourself behind the curve. If the threat is still ongoing, you now have to mentally say “Oh crap! He’s not down! I need to shoot him some more!” You must then bring the weapon back up on target, align the sights, and then properly squeeze the trigger. It is much better to prepare for another shot that you determine is un-necessary than to try and play catch-up after you’ve mentally checked out of the fight.

Accuracy during the command drills was also an issue, although most shooters managed to keep the majority of their shots in the black on those tiny little NRA bullseye targets. This was an “advanced” course and (in my opinion at least) you could tell it was an advanced course. Overall the accuracy was pretty darn good from most shooters, although some of us took an occasional trip on the short bus and still others (namely me) seemed ready to board it for the duration.

We went through a number of other drills during the day including a modified version of “the test”, which I believe will be my new favorite drill. “The test” in its original form is 10 rounds kept within the 10 ring of the NRA bullseye target at 10 yards in a 10 second time frame. The modified 1911 neutral version we did was 8 rounds in the 10 ring from 10 yards in 10 seconds…from the draw. This drill is a kick in the nuts. Even though that 10 ring is very small, most shooters managed to keep most of their rounds inside the 10 ring….and this is a class where most people are using Glocks. I believe a couple of people managed to shoot this drill clean….but I could be wrong about that. (I’m having a hard time recalling some of the details either because it was hot and I was too busy fighting with my equipment and swearing at myself, or because I was too traumatized by another one of NCPatrolAR’s stories to have adequate memory function.)

Another tough drill was 2 shots from the draw in 3 seconds at the 5 yard line (repeat 5 times)…2 shots from the draw at the 10 yard line in 4 seconds, (x5) and 2 shots from the 15 yard line in 5 seconds. (x5) The goal here was to keep all shots within the black. I was doing extremely well until the last couple of runs at the 15 yard line where I managed to cluck it all up with 5 shots in the white because I failed to pay proper attention to trigger control. I believe there were also shooters who shot this drill clean.

There were also two more (don’t call it a) walkback drills during the day, and I displayed unparalleled consistency by flaming out in spectacular fashion on them just as I did on the first one…failing to score a single hit on the steel C-zone target the entire day.

Overall we didn’t fire many rounds today. For those who have never trained with Mr. Vickers before, his philosophy on training is to focus on the QUALITY of the shots you fire rather than the quantity. You are held accountable for every shot you fire, and he uses the NRA bullseye targets as a means of magnifying errors. If you aren’t properly controlling the trigger or aligning the sights when you shoot at those bullseye targets, it will show up plain as day. You really have to be doing everything right to consistently keep your shots inside the black. This is work. Hard work….and trust me when I tell you that you’ll learn more with 200 rounds fired according to Mr. Vickers philosophy than you can imagine. This is, I believe, one of the reasons that he has so many repeat students. He makes you work and that work makes you a better shooter.
Unfortunately it doesn’t look like we’ll be able to do low light training in this course because of concerns about the neighbors.

Equipment –

For this course I decided that I was going to run a Glock 17 as my sidearm, and since today was all pistol I got to spend a lot of quality time with my G17. If you don’t know already, I hate Glocks. I find them to be without a doubt THE most difficult handguns to shoot well that I’ve ever tried. I can pick up a stock Beretta 92 or DA/SA Sig pistol and generally perform significantly better with those than I can with a Glock that I’ve made some mods to. I find that in my hands Glocks have precisely ZERO margin of error…meaning that if I don’t do everything exactly right I miss my intended target. They also chop up the web of my hands, requiring me to either have a grip reduction or use a gadget like the Glock Tail to shoot them without needing stitches. Of course, Mr. Vickers spotted the Glock Tail on my G17 during the AK course and asked me if a badger had been chewing on my handgun. Apparently my attempt to trim the Glock Tail using a utility knife wasn’t very aesthetically pleasing….

So if I hate them, why use one in this course? Well, there are a couple of reasons. Firstly, Glocks are the “universal handgun”. Glocks are in most police holsters in the US and as Ken Hackathorn says, if you go almost anywhere in the world and they hand you a pistol, it’s most likely going to be a Glock. If you want to be a well rounded shooter you need to learn how to use one. The second and most important reason is to put me outside of my comfort zone. You don’t learn anything when you are comfortable, and I’m here to learn. I figure that if I use the most uncomfortable, unforgiving platform for my personal tastes and learn to run it to the high level of proficiency that Mr. Vickers demands that I will be improving my skill and ability with the platforms I *do* use more naturally. If you want to build muscle, you have to lift weights that are heavy. If you want to build your shooting skill, you have to be stretched and stressed….and I’m pretty much there whenever I’m holding a Glock. I know I could have performed better on a number of drills had I been using my 1911 or my M&P 9mm or even my Beretta 92…but this ain’t a beauty pageant. While I don’t really want to look like a window-licking dumbass and I really don’t enjoy the sensation of losing drills to other people in the class by margins wide enough to drive a tank through, my main goal in being here is to learn my limits and to hopefully begin to push beyond them.

Miscellaneous interesting stuff –

SinnFéinM1911 brought along a new FN .45 handgun that looks to have some promise. I’m sure Templar will post pictures, but the best way I can describe it is the FNP “tactical” model. Think of the USP .45 tactical as compared to the normal USP and you’re on the right track. SinnFéinM1911 graciously gave us the opportunity to have some trigger time on the handgun and it proved to be very accurate. One shooter was literally shooting a one hole group. The trigger reach was too long for me and I personally feel that the trigger could use some cleaning up (it’s still a pretty good trigger, but I think the folks at FN have the capacity to improve upon what we tried) and at least for my hands it could use a couple of areas dehorned…..but I think the weapon has real potential. At the price point being discussed I think it will be a hit, especially when one considers that it comes from the factory ready to accept a Dr. Optic red-dot. That’s unique in the gun world.
Mr. Vickers has some upcoming projects and ideas that are not yet ready for public consumption but that I believe are going to be a big hit. I can’t wait to see them come to life.

I’ll post revisions and additions when my brain starts working again.

[GaryG]

J.W, a most-excellent review! Can't wait to read about days 2&3!

[Sam]

Thanks for taking the time to post your account of the first day. That's a lot of typing after a hot day on the range shooting those tough little bullseyes. Tell the Milfmasta (NCPatrolAR) to go easy on those stories. Looking forward to your day 2 report.

BTW, I call those "instantly lowering the gun" after a shot, the "collapse". I see many does it at IDPA matches and during training events. Don't do it.

[tjcoker]

Keep it coming this weekend. I love reading these AAR's of LAV classes. They always remind me of my time training with him and make me look forward to my next class.

[Jay Cunningham]

Thanks for another detailed AAR.

I found myself shooting the infamous Dot Torture drill/test a couple of days ago and I found myself following through to the ground and 360 scan/assessing after every individual engagement. Made for a lengthy drill - but well worth it.

[UDT]

Thanks, for a nice AAR.

[macman37]

Great writeup as usual J_W777!

jim

[John_Wayne777]

Day 2 –

Day two was dedicated mostly to carbine. We began the day by zeroing our carbines, a process that took a little bit of time. Zeroing is a pain in the neck but it’s a necessary evil if you hope to have any accuracy later in the day. We then moved on to a bullseye carbine drill:

Begin standing and go to prone at the 50 yard line, fire 10 shots in 10 minutes. Then begin standing and go into the sitting position and fire 10 rounds in 45 seconds. Begin standing, go to kneeling and fire 10 rounds in 45 seconds. Now move to the 25 and do 10 rounds standing in a set number of seconds. (I forget exactly how many seconds for this section)

We couldn’t get through this relatively short drill (we had to have two relays because of the number of people in the class) without equipment casualties. One weapon had numerous chambering issues most likely because of an improperly sized chamber, IIRC. Another weapon snapped a bolt in half shortly after. Both were relatively new weapons that had run ok for a few hundred rounds prior to coming to the course. This prompted Mr. Vickers to give a brief lesson on equipment choices essentially telling the class that if they want a DI AR style weapon, buy a Colt 6920 and leave the major functional parts of the weapon (barrel, bolt, gas system, bolt carrier, trigger group) ALONE. Adding a rail, lights, optics and the like is fine, but don’t mess with the engine of the weapon. This, of course, was not the first time that I’ve heard Mr. Vickers make such a statement.

The AI brought up an important point about how many people select gear. They will buy a cheaper upper receiver assembly and put a really nice free-floating rail system on and in doing so they get the cart before the horse. Spend the money to get a good reliable WORKING weapon first, and THEN worry about accessories. Avoid things like set-screw gas blocks, titanium firing pins, “match” triggers, and various other aftermarket parts that seem like a good idea but end up being problematic at best when you run a gun hard. Colt certainly isn’t perfect and their guns aren’t immune to problems or failures, but they have learned over a long period of producing DI guns what it takes to make one work (because they are FORCED to make them work by their government contracts) and are your best shot at a rifle that will work out of the box and that will offer a decent service life. If you are driving from Alabama to go train in Virginia, it sucks to have your weapon poop the bed on you less than 100 rounds into the training day.

After the lesson we completed the bullseye drill. The drill showed that just like flashlight techniques, people (and by “people” I mean me) need to spend time learning to find a version of the various positions that works best for their anatomy and equipment choices. I rarely shoot from the kneeling position, for instance, and as a result I suck out loud when in the kneeling. I’m not really any better than when I am standing. To borrow Mr. Vickers’ terminology, that’s God’s little way of telling me that I need to practice that position more.

After scoring the bullseye drill we did a (don’t call it a) walkback drill. True to form I stepped up to the line and continued my legendary performance by missing the steel target AGAIN…flaming out in spectacular fashion once more and keeping my unbroken streak of suck going for another day. I HATE the (don’t call it a) walkback drill. I loathe it. Every damn time I run that drill I manage to **** it up in ways that amaze even me. Apparently I used up every last bit of (don’t call it a) walkback mojo I had in the last run during the May AK class. Others did fairly well on the drill. I really don’t remember who because I was too busy swearing at myself to pay much attention.

We then broke for lunch. It’s been hot in South Hill the last couple of days. Yesterday afternoon merely stepping out of the shade gave you the sensation that your skin was sizzling. Today was also pretty hot. Templar managed to sweat through his shirt before class even started. That was a bad sign. Thankfully the day actually seemed to get a bit cooler after the morning session….but not much. The trashcan at the range is overflowing with water bottles.

After lunch we worked on transitions from the long gun to the sidearm. Again, attempting to re-enforce real world situations Mr. Vickers had us set up our carbines with no ammo in them. On the buzzer we were to attempt to fire just as we would be doing in the real world, get a click or a dead trigger, and then respond to that stimulus by transitioning to the sidearm. A number of shooters had been trained by the military to put the weapon on safe and to guide the long gun to the weak side using both hands…neither of which are desirable. When you get a click instead of a bang when dealing with a threat, there is still a threat there trying to kill you. You need to get the sidearm into action as quickly and efficiently as possible if you wish to preserve your life. The mechanical safety on the weapon is the least of your problems at that point. Worse still, it’s also impossible. If you get a click instead of a bang or a dead trigger when you attempt to address a threat with your long gun, you won’t be able to actually re-engage the safety because the hammer isn’t going to be cocked.

This is another example of “safe” range practice that is aimed at preventing problems from the lowest common denominator but that turns into a problem once you are on a two way range. It would suck to get shot because your brain was stuck on the programming it received, trying to make you engage the safety on your carbine instead of just drawing your pistol and dealing with the threat.

This is another example of why Mr. Vickers’ instruction is so valuable. He approaches the drills with the mindset that he’s preparing you to deal with a real life threat and his techniques are developed around the reality of what’s important in that moment. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from Mr. Vickers is the importance of mindset in training. You have to keep a very clear understanding of what exactly it is that you are training FOR if you want to achieve the best results. If it’s true that you’ll fight like you train, then it seems to me to be equally true that you’ll train like you think….thus getting your mind right about exactly what it is you are doing is critical for anyone who wishes to use a firearm for serious social purposes.

We then did a transition based drill requiring us to load a single round in the chamber of our carbines. We were to fire one round, attempt to fire a second shot, and after we got the click transition to our sidearms. We ran the drill. Then Mr. Vickers (who had apparently been watching the first relay carefully with an instructor’s eye) asked how many people had actually pulled the trigger on their carbines a second time before transitioning to the sidearm. Only about 1/3 of the relay actually made the second trigger pull. The other 2/3rds were DQed on the spot. We then worked backwards dropping anyone who put a shot outside the black until it was down to me and a member of the NoVA crew. After a few tie runs he managed to break his pistol shot a little faster than I did and won the competition for our relay.

It was theorized that some good natured ribbing based on my screen name during the (don’t call it a) walkback drill had pissed me off enough to improve my performance. I must admit that it did provide a little bit of motivation…but my main thought during the drill was all the misses and downright EMBARRASING accuracy I’d displayed up to that point and the determination that if it KILLED me I wasn’t going to be the first man down on another drill.
After transitions we worked on turns with the carbine. Apparently I managed to get my sh*t together because I kept all my shots in the black and most of them inside the 10 and X rings during the turning drills.

During a break for some hydration Mr. Vickers took the time to give us some equipment pointers. He talked about stocks, the BFG modified redi-mag, sang the praises of the EOTech (note: this is sarcasm), and talked about just about every other AR related accessory you can think of. A couple of people were taking good notes during this portion so I’ll leave it to one of them to recount the specifics.

Then it was time for shooting on the move. We began with simple walking forward and backward drills, and then moved on to box drills with the carbine and the handgun. Anyone who watches video that has captured actual shootouts will notice quickly that nobody stands still once the bullets start flying. It is the natural human instinct to move when somebody is shooting at you. Mr. Vickers put it bluntly:

“Nobody would stand here and let me throw rocks at you as hard as I can, so why in the hell would you think that somebody isn’t going to move when you try to shoot them?”

Because it is likely that in a real fight both you and the bad guy are going to be moving, it is critical to learn how to shoot on the move. Mr. Vickers stated that the two things you should practice at every range session are some sort of bullseye shooting (to a high standard of accuracy, of course) and shooting on the move.

Part of learning to shoot on the move (and indeed learning to shoot well in general) is learning to live with the wobble. If you’ve spent any time shooting you know that the sights on your weapon are rarely still. At shorter ranges you may not notice it much, but at longer ranges you begin to notice that it is hard to keep the sights on an ever shrinking target. When moving it is impossible to keep the sights absolutely still. There are ways you can use your body to minimize the movement of the sights, but you will never keep them absolutely still. As a result, you must learn how to keep the sights within an acceptable “wobble zone” and then be able to break a clean shot when you have an appropriate sight picture.

The issue most people have is what Mr. Vickers termed “twitch fire” where they see the sight picture they want and think “Okay, break the shot NOW!” and then snatch the unholy hell out of the trigger, resulting in a miss. They are essentially focusing more on the sight picture than the trigger pull, and that’s another case of getting the cart before the horse. This is exactly what I was doing on the (don’t call it a) walkback drills. I was getting the sight picture I wanted and then snatching the unholy hell out of the trigger. “Okay….NOW!” ***snatch*** **flying dirt** “@^%^&*$!!!!!”

Thankfully I managed to perform much better on paper, keeping the overwhelming majority of my shots made on the move within the black. We started with simple forwards and backwards moving drills, and then moved on to box drills shot with the pistol and the carbine. I went for a short bus ride on my first run with the carbine messing up my footwork and at the beginning I wanted to fire all my shots on the first target for some reason…but I did much better on the pistol run.

Unfortunately I missed a number of moving drills because the forward QD mount I had for my sling popped off of my rail. Somehow the threads inside the mount had been stripped and there was nothing left for the screw to hold on to. That mount worked just fine up until today…and of all the things you expect to break on a carbine your sling mount just isn’t one of them. Thankfully CarlosDJackal had a spare sling/attachment point that worked for my situation and he was kind enough to loan it to me to finish the course.

We finished the day with a competition. The class was split into 3 eight man teams. Each person had only 8 rounds in their weapon and had to do a figure 8 through 2 obstacles and fire one round on each of four targets going forward through the figure 8 and going back. Accuracy and speed were the judging criteria and teams two and three managed to tie. Team two was faster, team three was a little more accurate overall.

[Jay Cunningham]

I HATE the (don’t call it a) walkback drill. I loathe it. Every damn time I run that drill I manage to **** it up in ways that amaze even me. Apparently I used up every last bit of (don’t call it a) walkback mojo I had in the last run during the May AK class. Others did fairly well on the drill. I really don’t remember who because I was too busy swearing at myself to pay much attention.

You would have been fine if you'd had your VEPR.

Thanks for the effort in the write-up!

[30 cal slut]

A few observations ...

1) John Wayne 777 is a mobile gun shop on wheels. Thanks for letting me borrow the holster, dude!

2) Although I am normally the living embodiment of what Larry calls "fumblef*ck", it was nice NOT to be on the hardware short bus this weekend (so far). Equipment is holding up nicely.

3) It requires extra mental effort to stay switched on in this modestly hot and humid weather.