Larry Vickers 1911 Operator course - short review

I invited Larry to come down to Atl. for a two days 1911 Operator course. We just completed the class on Sunday. We had 14 students and a guest. Most students have IDPA (sharpshooters to masters, including a 4 gun master) or previous USPSA (C class and above) shooting experience, a few full time police officers, ex-military, IT professionals and engineers. The weather was warm for October, high was in the upper 70s and sunny. Pistols were mostly .45acp, with 3 minor caliber 9mm. There were Wilsons, Les Baers, Kimber Warriors, one Colt customized by Chuck Rogers, a Caspian by SDM Fabricating, a couple of Caspians by John Harrison, S&W 1911, two STI Trojans in 9mm and a Chip McCormick frame/slide gun built by Marvin Fair (where is he now?).

We shot 25 yds NRA bullseye targets posted over IDPA target backings. We shot from 5 yds. to 25 yds. We shot ball and dummy drills, Sybold (sp.?) drills, FBI duel drills, the "Humbler" (yes it humbled all of us) and a few other. I won't go into the details, you have to pay to see this movie :)

On Sunday morning, Larry spent over 4 hours going over the detail disassembly and reassembly. He went over all the parts and what we should look for in a properly set up 1911. He tweaked a few small parts that needed it. A few students never fully detail stripped a 1911 before and it showed. This portion of the class is worth the price of admission. All of us enjoyed this session. The biggest lesson I learned from this session was, if you're not a dedicated 1911 enthusiast, you don't need to own anything with the series II, series 80 or Swartz firing pin safety mechanism. There were lots of smokes coming out of people's ears. I sold my series 80 Colt a long time ago.

We returned to the range to test fire our pistols and revisit the Sybold and Humbler drills. Over the course of both days, Larry gave out many trinkets to the students who were high shooters in the drills. I got a Vickers Tactical Tango Down Glock extended mag. release.

Anyone who own, shoot and carry a 1911 NEED this class. Get your buddies together and get a range and host Larry for a weekend of eye opening. We all came out of this class learning how to appreciate the 1911 to another level.

A side note, Larry brought his Sig P210 that he customized a few years ago to let me see it. That is a nice pistol and great custom work. He also brought an HK P30, I think it's way better than their USPs or P2000.

Great class with a great group of guys (as always). One thing Sam left out was the test firing of an MP45 I had brought with me to the class. Seems most people truely enjoyed getting to compare the 1911 to a more modern .45 ACP duty pistol.

True, your M&P 45 was truly a big hit. I believe a few folks were sold on it.

To clarify my statement concerning the firing pin safety systems, many folks had problems reassembling the extra parts and I would be among them if I had one of those lawyer driven parts. The gun maintenance session was definitely worth its weight in gold. The first time I detail stripped a 1911, with help from a Wilson Combat Manual, it took me over an hour to put it back together.

Thanks for this AAR. With the info here, on 10-8, and akforum I have a whole new appreciation and interest in the finer technical aspects of various platforms. I hope to make the 1911 class when it comes to VA.

It was well worth the price of admission.