AAR - Vickers Tactical 3 Day Pistol/Carbine
I spent the weekend in Fayetteville, NC in the Vickers Tactical 3 Day Pistol/Carbine class. I have previously trained with Blackwater, DTI (J. Farnam), Tactical Response and the NRA. I have not been a competitive shooter; I am not police nor have I served in the US military.
Larry Vickers instructed and class size was 10 students. Round count was approximately 500 per weapon; although 1,000 each was recommended.
This was an intermediate class - you need to know how to manipulate your weapon safely in a group and be focused on progessing your shooting skills.
Friday began with introductions and evaluation of shooting skills. Larry stresses accuracy in all situations and drills. The goal is to shoot confidently and quickly, but not at the expense of accurate hits. The tag line of his web site and consultancy is "Speed is fine, but accuracy is final." This sums up the course material quite well. I won't go into Larry's drills in detail as you should learn them from him if you decide to train with Vickers Tactical; but they work.
We started with our handguns/service pistols on Q targets. I will comment here on the effectiveness of his methods and drills again. Larry has a unique set of steps - starting with a base-line and drilling trigger control and sight alignment. By lunch we were all shooting a ragged hole in the center of the target. Larry applies a real-world, no bullshit approach to the drills and this is backed up by his extensive bona fides in the military and shooting industry. One has no doubt that what he teaches works and has a solid foundation in fact not theory. We progressed to par time shooting and found that we could shoot within a narrow window yet maintain our accurate hits on the target. Toward the end of the first day we did a drill that had us shooting on steel in a competition format. The results of the day's training were evident in the number of long-range hits on steel from the students.
On Saturday we began with a recap of the previous day's most important drill and then moved on to the carbine. As usual, the majority of the time in any carbine class is spent on zeroing. I am continually amazed at the amount of time this consumes in every class. I guess I should get over that, but unzeroed or the wrong zero (based on the class) means everyone shoots and waits, shoots and waits. I would strongly suggest you shake out your mounts, zero and ammo at the range for both irons and optics regularly. This will pay off when you attend any carbine class. I am not claiming to have had a correct zero, but I want to make the point. Larry taught a 100 yard zero and discussed the advantages/disadvantages of the various BZ's in use. Not content with "good" we confirmed the zero at distance. This was eye-opening as the short-range mathmatical zero is only an approximation of the real world zero. This was very valuable information.
Again, accuracy was the key to Larry's approach to the carbine. We moved on to reloads, transitions and sight offset. This may read like we were covering basic topics but you should consider the material advanced versions of the fundamentals. You may have had batting practice in tee ball but that doesn't mean you can hit a pitched fast ball.
We stopped for dinner and reconvened for a night shoot. We discussed white light, light sources, equipment and technologies (lasers, LED) as dusk fell. Larry covered his approach to night/low light shooting and added some unique drills involving pulsed light and we tried the various flavors of night sights. My opinion is the things learned in the night shoot will flat out amaze you and change your perception of what is possible and what is complete bullshit in previous training.
The final day we reconvened for a combination of pistol and carbine. Again, using his unique style and a GMC truck, we learned just how important the shooting foundation of the previous two days were. In a very eye-opening drill we fired from a moving vehicle at pepper poppers. Even at close range it was difficult to do more than just make noise. The next time you see Lucy Liu make a 50-yard pistol shot from a racing car you'll have great deal of respect for her marksmanship. :D
Here I am shooting from the truck bed:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...carry/LAV2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...h_MOV00125.jpg Movie of the same.
The remainder of the day was spent on malfunctions and clearing them, a team drill and another long-range skill and a timed-fire competition. Larry wrapped up the day and awarded "Best Shooter."
The facility, while spartan, was more than adequate to our needs. A handgun and rifle range were in close proximity as were many fast food places and there was easy access from a major highway. The Fayetteville area is not what I would call a major metro but adequate lodging at very reasonable rates was available. There was no running water or restroom facilities which was a negative compared to some other ranges. However, the range had no fee which was something to balance this against.
Tactical Assault Gear hosted the class and made sure everyone had ample opportunity to acquire new gear at reduced rates during the class; as well as guiding us out-of-towners to and from the range and explaining the area to us. If you have tactical gear needs you should consider contacting them or visiting one of their stores.
We also had the opportunity to evaluate and purchase "the finest combat sling in the world" also known as the Blue Force Vickers Combat Applications Sling (tm). I used one during the class and recommend you investigate this sling. It helps you control the weapon and allows you to manipulate it - a combination of the single-point advantages without the drawbacks of the three-point. http://www.blueforcegear.com/
Vickers Tactical offers unique, reality-based training with an engaging, practical experience. Larry keeps the classes interesting, challenging and maintains a good balance between learing and doing. As you may know, his background and experience is quite impressive and you will learn things about tactics, the firearms industry and the real world no matter who you are. In terms of value, this is a high return on investment in my opinion.
