Quinn Ranch Training hosted Larry Vickers (http://www.vickerstactical.com) for a 3-day pistol course on 28-30 March 2008 near Brady, TX. This was a custom course that incorporated elements of the Pistol Basic and Pistol 1 classes, including a low-light segment. The open-enrollment class had 14 students who traveled from as far as NYC, northern California, Florida, and Mississippi. Occupations included cops, a USAF pilot, a locomotive engineer, emergency medical technicians, a land surveyor, and mechanical engineers. Training backgrounds ranged from none to “a lot.” Pistols were the typical variety of Glocks, 1911s, SIGs, M&Ps, and an HK45C. Larry was shooting a Glock 19 with Heinie sights and a grip treatment by David Bowie (http://www.bowietacticalconcepts.com/).
Weather conditions were cool and overcast for TD1 and TD2, but T-shirts and sunscreen were the norm on TD3.
TRAINING DAY 1
We got off to a delayed start on TD1 due to instructor Larry Vickers (aka LAV) being a victim of Delta Airlines’ cancellation of 275 flights the day prior to inspect wiring harnesses on their aircraft. Nevertheless, we got underway at 14:00. Larry did a mini-lecture on the importance of trigger control, and then we jumped right into the first of many drills that built upon one another.
Question—Why is trigger control SO important in pistol shooting? LAV: The typical service pistol like a Glock has a trigger-pull weight of 5 pounds but weighs only about 2 pounds, for a ratio of 2.5:1. Conversely, a precision rifle might have a 3-pound trigger but weigh 15 pounds for a ratio of 1:5. Big difference.
Drill #1, Dry Fire
We partnered up and took turns dry firing with an empty cartridge case balanced on the pistol’s front sight. This gave Larry an opportunity to evaluate shooters’ grips and stances. He advised me that I had the “classic Sponge Bob” stance, with my feet parallel to the target, and advised me to move my support-side foot back.
Question—Why do we focus on the front sight? LAV: Because it’s easiest to align 3 objects (rear sight, front sight, and target) by focusing on the middle object. Makes sense. According to Larry, good shooters can call their shots 90+% of the time by focusing on the front sight.
Wobble Zone— “It’s not about the wobble; it’s about keeping your sights parallel.”
Drill #2, Slow-Fire Ball and Dummy
We took turns having our partners load our pistols with our backs turned, sometimes with a round chambered and sometimes not. This was an eye-opening experience, as the brain’s anticipation of a small explosion at arms’ length can have a significantly negative effect one’s trigger press (“El Snatcho”). When El Snatcho reared his ugly head, we had to immediately do 5 times remedial dry fire in attempt to exorcise the virus.
LAV— “Dude! Are you OK?!! You are shaking like a dog shitting razor blades.”
Since Larry is a well-respected pistolsmiths and firearms-industry consultant in addition to being a very-experience trainer, we were given some insights into weaknesses of some pistols. He advised that it is a little-known fact that the plastic things in the slide dovetails of the standard Glock (“The Universal Handgun”) are not sights at all, but merely “slot fillers” and should immediately be replaced with viable sights.
Drill #3, Command-Fire Ball and Dummy
A variation of #2, shooters fired upon command (“Standby, Ready, Up”) from the low ready position. Five times remedial dry fire was required when trigger control was not as desired.
LAV—The first pad of the finger should be in contact with the trigger to minimize upset/jerk.
Drill #4, Timed-Fire Ball and Dummy
Variation of #3, shooters fired upon an audible from the timer.
Drill #5, Dry-Fire Trigger Reset
Larry advised that the trigger should be reset during recoil as the slide cycles. “Reset quick; press slow.” Some of us had been previously taught to feel the reset AFTER the slide returned to battery. This drill was designed to de-program that bad habit by having a partner physically cycle the slide while the shooter reset the trigger. I have a lot of work to do on this one.
Drill #6, Live-Fire 1-Shot, 2-Shot, 3-Shot… Follow Through, Scan, and Assess.
From the low ready, we fired 1 shot, then 2 shots, then 3 shots under a specified time limit, with the object to keep all shots within a specified area of the target.
Larry Vickers’ emphasis on marksmanship is characterized by his mantra, “Speed is fine; accuracy is final.” He told us that one can expect their accuracy in a gunfight to deteriorate to half of what it is in training (i.e., group size will effectively double). In order to simulate his standard for accuracy, we used typical cardboard IDPA silhouette targets, but with a 25-yard rapid/time-fire bullseye target stapled over the center of mass.
Drill #7 (Competition #1), Accuracy Drill
Shooters fired two shots from the low ready position on the timer starting at 3 yards. Shots outside the black of the bullseye caused shooters to drop out and those who were left moved back two steps until a single winner was identified. The winner had his choice of a TangoDown/Vickers Tactical Glock magazine release or a 10-8 1911 magazine release.
The Draw—Larry demonstrated presentation from the holster. He emphasized, “Draw fast, but shoot no faster than you can keep them in the black.” Full speed to the holster; ½ speed to acquire a firing grip; the support hand picks up the grip close in under the trigger guard to fulcrum up; full speed out toward the target. “Present. Pause. Press.” Larry does not teach a presentation by the numbers like many instructors do.
One student was shooting from a Safariland 6004 drop-leg holster like Larry, who passed along a tip from Rob Leatham (http://www.robleatham.com/): Index the finger tips on the backstrap of the pistol’s grip before pushing the retention hood at a 45% angle away from the body with the thumb to gain speed/consistency.
LAV— “Rob Leatham is the best handgun shooter that’s ever lived.”
Drill #8, Bullseye Drill
3 yards, 5 rounds in the X ring
7 yards, 5 rounds in the 10 ring
10 yards, 5 rounds in the black
Drill #9, Separation of Sight Alignment from Trigger Control
Once again, a drill to illustrate the importance of trigger control. The shooter aligns sights on target with finger straight, while a partner performs the trigger press. This works best if the partner’s thumb indexes on the back of the shooter’s firing hand to become part of the firing grip. Groups obtained in this drill were amazingly small.
LAV Tip—Rimfire conversion units to allow firing of .22 long rifle ammo in you pistol while maintaining the same trigger, grip, etc. are very good for practice to develop trigger control. Advantage Arms (http://www.advantagearms.com/) is recommended for Glock conversions. Larry also advised more than one of us having trouble maintaining consistent trigger control with the .45ACP that we would benefit from shooting a 9mm. Maybe my wife needs a M&P9 for Mothers’ Day.
Drill #10, 1 shot / 2 shots / 3 shots
From the low ready position, 5 seconds par time
3 yards: 1 shot, 2 shots, 3 shots
7 yards: 1 shot, 2 shots, 3 shots
10 yards: 1 shot, 2 shots, 3 shots
Drill #11, 1-Shot Draws
Goal—All shots in the black of the 25-yard rapid/timed-fire bullseye target.
5 yards: 3 seconds, Ten 1-shot draws from the holster
10 yards: 4 seconds, Ten 1-shot draws from the holster
15 yards: 5 seconds, Ten 1-shot draws from the holster
At this point we broke for dinner, and everyone met at Hard Eight BBQ (http://www.hardeightbbq.com/), which is not the ONLY place to eat in Brady, but it’s definitely a favorite. Hard Eight in Brady has complimentary Shiner Bock beer (http://www.shiner.com/) on tap, but none imbibed at this meal, as we had more shooting to do afterward.
Low-Light Segment
We reconvened at 20:00. The sky was overcast with just enough moonlight to navigate the range without lights. Larry told us that it is his opinion that the most deficient area of tactical training today is low light.
Drill #12, Low-Light Point Shooting
Despite the assertion by many that point shooting is not a viable technique, Larry told us that it does have a place: low-light shooting of a pistol NOT equipped with night sights at five yards or less. Those students with night sights taped over the tritium inserts for this drill, which required 3 or 4 layers of tape to occlude the glow. From 5 yards, we were told to point our pistol toward the silhouette, which was all I could discern with my eyes, by aligning it between our chin and the target (“Gun—Chin—Target”). Surprisingly, all shots were within the center of mass.
Night Sights—Larry’s belief is that every service pistol should have night sights. There are 3 common configurations:
• Front Sight Only—This is the configuration that Larry’s buddy Ken Hackathorn likes and is the setup that I had on the pistol I used during the night segment. I noted that without using a light I could only see the dot and could not make out the rear sight at all.
• Two Dot—This is the configuration of dot-over-dot popularized by Richard Heinie’s excellent Straight Eight sights (http://www.heinie.com/slanteight.php) and is Larry’s favorite, especially with a yellow or amber rear tritium insert, which is less bright to the eye than the green insert used for the front sight.
• Three Dot—The most common, but “the worst”. Larry said that these are better with yellow inserts in the rear sight and recommends that green inserts in the rear be dimmed with a Sharpie.
Tactical Tip: http://www.vickerstactical.com/Tips/nightSights.htm
Visible Laser—Larry was up front about the fact that he is a consultant for Crimson Trace Corporation (http://www.crimsontrace.com/), but despite being considered a gimmick by some like tritium sights were in years past, he believes laser grips to be a big advantage for low-light shooting. He recommends turning them off during daylight. Larry recommends the CTC grips for the 1911, Beretta M9, and for the S&W J-frame revolvers and M&P pistols. I had a set of CTC grips on one of my 1911s, which Larry used to demonstrate a multi-target engagement without using a white light. He also showed us how the laser trace on the target should be a vertical line as an indicator of a well-controlled trigger press versus a J-shaped trace for an El Snatcho trigger jerk.
Tactical Tip: http://www.vickerstactical.com/Tips/visibleLasers.htm
Use of White Light—Larry emphasized minimizing making yourself a target by not keeping the light switched on more than necessary. He briefly demonstrated the (Michael) Harries technique (which he said can be fatiguing and does not work well around support-side corners) the Rogers/syringe technique, and another technique that works well with the Executive-sized lights by actuating the tailcap switch against the wrist of the support-side hand.
Tactical Tip: http://www.vickerstactical.com/Tips/whiteLight.htm
Drill #13, Flash to Identify
Shooter uses momentary switch on the light to “flash to identify”, then moves laterally. Again, “flash to identify,” then moves. Engage the threat (using visible laser if available), then moves laterally again to get away from the muzzle flash.
Question—Can the light from a handheld light disable an attacker as shown in Surefire ads? Larry sought to prove that this is BS with a demonstration. A hole above the center of mass in an IDPA silhouette target was used to support a flashlight that was shining toward a student that was facing the target with his weapon at low ready but with his eyes closed. Upon command Darren, aka “Barry Bonds” opened his eyes and was able to effectively engage the threat, despite being “blinded” by the light.
Muzzle Flash—Flash signature differences were demonstrated by having students with different ammunition fire a few rounds into the berm in front of the class. Differences in flash size/color/intensity were observed. Sellier & Bellot 9mm ammo exhibited a sparkler effect downrange of the fireball flash. Moral: Test your carry ammo at night to determine which will be least likely to reveal your position and to degrade your night vision.
TRAINING DAY 2
TD2 started off with some ball and dummy and other drills from TD1.
Drill #14—Ken Hackathorn’s “The Test”
From 10 yards:
Baseline—10 shots in 10 seconds from the ready; 100 points possible.
1911-Neutral—8 shots in 10 seconds from the holster; 80 points possible.
If not scoring well, reduce range to 7 yards.
Ken Hackathorn—“If you’re training in your comfort zone, you’re not learning a thing.”
Reloads
Larry taught that reloads should be performed in the “working space” in front of one’s chin (fairly close in, not at arms’ length as I am prone to do). He did a brief demonstration of tactical reloads and emphasized that one should never remove a partially-depleted mag from the pistol before retrieving a loaded mag (leaving only one round in the chamber). He said that it was OK to partially remove the mag from the pistol to visually check ammo status, but that it should be reseated in the pistol before retrieving the loaded mag.
Slide-Lock/Emergency/Speed/Empty Reloads
1. Trigger finger straight.
2. Turn the pistol in the firing hand to reach the mag release with the thumb, keeping the mag well vertical. Spent mag is dropped free as…
3. Support hand sweeps back with open palm along torso to mag pouch. Proper grip is with index finger along front side of magazine, which is in the pouch with bullets forward.
4. Firing hand reacquires firing grip. Mag well is oriented toward magazine pouch. Pistol is in working space in front of chin.
5. Visual focus shifts from downrange to mag well.
6. Seat mag.
7. Support-hand thumb is used to press slide release. Larry indicated that this technique is especially suitable to 1911s, which he said have an ideal location for the slide release. Some instructors teach a universal release from slide lock by overhand or slingshotting the slide, which Larry said is “wrong, wrong, wrong.” He said that the technique should be weapon/shooter dependent (e.g., a left-hander shooting a SIG would be better off with the overhand/slingshot method).
8. Push pistol out toward the threat.
Drill #15—Bullseye Drill
10 shots at each distance, slow fire:
5 yards—support hand only
10 yards—firing hand only
15 yards—both hands
Larry emphasized that canting the pistol when firing one-handed, as some instructors teach, is incorrect. He also said that the foot on the side of the firing hand should be forward in the stance (e.g., right-side foot forward when firing right-hand-only).
LAV Tip—A Glock is neither single-action nor double-action. Its trigger should not be pressed like a single-action trigger; it requires more patience. A Glock trigger should be pressed like a double-action trigger.
Drill #16—Focus on Front Sight
A plain white target was stapled on the silhouette. Shooters were advised to focus on the front sight and not the target. 7 yards, 10 shots.
Drill #17—Focus on Target
Shooters were advised to focus on the target and not on the sights. This is a walk-back drill where distance is increased incrementally.
Drill #18—Siebel Drill
Requires 3 magazines with 6 rounds loaded each.
7 yards from the ready, all 18 shots within the black within 25 (or 20 or 15) seconds.
Slide lock reloads are required.
Turns
• Body follows head (i.e., head leads body).
• Lift heel and pivot on ball of foot.
• Turn into the turn; do NOT back into the turn (i.e., lead with the toe, not the heel).
• End with an aggressive firing stance.
Drill #19—Multiple Targets
5 yards, 3 targets, 2 shots each.
Facing downrange with feet static, turn the upper body with the hips (turn the belt buckle toward target), fire two shots into each target in a specified sequence.
Drill #20—Body/Head Variation of #19
Like #19, but firing pairs in to body AND head of multiple targets in a specified sequence.
Drill #21—Emergency Reload Drill
Slide locked back, empty mag in pistol, sights aligned on target and trigger held to rear.
At the beep, perform an emergency reload and fire 2 shots.
Start close and work back.
TRAINING DAY 3
We had one student missing on TD3 due to illness, which was a real shame for him, as he had driven all the way from northern California. We continued with more emergency reload drills. The shooter to my right on the line was shooting a Springfield Armory Professional 1911. He has what Larry calls “Mongo hands” (i.e., large), and the starboard side of the ambidextrous safety was really digging into his right hand. Larry said that “the Springfield Custom Shop does good work, but they leave sharp edges on the Pro” and advised him to have a competent ‘smith do an aggressive carry bevel job on it. Larry also commented that both he and Rob Leatham have smaller hands, which he believes are an advantage in pistol shooting when compared to large hands.
Malfunction clearances
LAV—The most common cause of failure to fire with Glocks is fully-loaded magazines causing a failure to fully seat the magazine. Glock mags should be downloaded by 1 round.
Drill #22—Tap/Rack/Bang
• Partially seated magazine in the pistol.
• Attempt to fire.
• Finger straight.
• Compromise grip as necessary; muzzle aware.
• Tap mag to fully seat.
• Cycle slide fully to rear and release.
• Fire.
LAV—“If you have a true ball of shit, which means if you’ve shot a 1911 for more than about a half hour, then this is how you clear the malfunction…”
Drill #23—Rip Drill
• Lock slide to the rear and drop a round into the chamber.
• Insert a loaded magazine.
• Ease the slide forward.
• Attempt to fire.
• Tap, rack, no bang.
• Lock slide to the rear.
• Rip magazine out (and retain by putting in a pocket).
• Shake the pistol (rounds may fall out mag well).
• *Release slide and let slam forward a minimum of one time.
• Seat a new magazine.
• Cycle the slide.
• Fire.
*The previous pistol training that I had received at Thunder Ranch (TX) had been to manually cycle the slide three times. Larry commented that the problem with that method is that people tend not to fully cycle the slide under stress.
Drill #24—Blindfolded Rip Drill
Same as #23, except keep eyes closed for malfunction clearance.
Lubrication—“ Far and away the most common problem I see when instructing is lack of proper lubrication. This goes for civilians, LE, and military.” We didn’t cover lubrication until TD3, but Larry did comment more than once on the prior days that there were a lot of dry guns in the class and that students should be lubing their pistols in the morning and at lunch. Larry actually showed us how he lubes a Glock and a 1911. He said that if you have only one drop of lube to use, that it should be put on the barrel hood.
Lubing the Glock—With the slide assembly removed, Larry ran a bead of oil along the underside of the entire slide assembly, including the recoil spring, the rails, sear, cruciform plate, and muzzle area of the barrel. He then replaced the slide assembly on the frame and pulled it about ½” out of battery to lube the barrel hood. He then said it should have the slide cycled and be dry fired 8-12 times.
Lubing the 1911—With the slide retracted about ½”, Larry ran a bead of lube across the barrel hood against the slide at the lower/forward edge of the ejection port. He then locked the slide to the rear and lubed the barrel, slide rails, and the top of the disconnector. He then eased the slide forward and put more lube along the side of the barrel hood and a few drops in front of the hammer. He then said it should have the slide cycled and be dry fired 8-12 times.
Tactical Tip: http://www.vickerstactical.com/Tips/...ubrication.htm
Shooting on the Move—Larry said that the two most important skills are 1) sight alignment / trigger control, and 2) shooting on the move. These skills should be practiced at every opportunity. To practice shooting on the move, point finger in front toward a target or fixed point and move toward it. The visible laser is a great tool for practicing shooting on the move.
Moving forward—The lower body needs to take the shock out of movement.
1. Heel, toe, roll.
2. Place one foot in front of the other.
3. *Knees should “work like a torsion suspension.” [*most important of the four points]
4. Keep elbows bent.
Drill #25—Shooting While Moving Forward
At the beep, move toward the target and shoot 2 shots. Shoot only when sight picture is good.
Moving backward—Reverse of forward movement.
Drill #26—Shooting While Moving Backward
Same as #25, except move away from target.
Moving laterally—“Side step, shuffle, glide.”
Drill #27—Box Drill*
Larry said that he believes this drill originated with Ken Hackathorn. It is a movement drill that incorporates forward, lateral, and aft movement. We used 4 barrels on end placed about 6-8 feet apart to form the corners of the box. Starting behind one of the barrels farthest from the targets, at the beep the shooter advances forward, then laterally, then backward, then laterally to the starting point. As the shooter moves along each side of the box, one shot is fired into each of three targets (2 shots with the carbine). Repeat by starting at the other back corner and move in the opposite direction around the box. [*This is obviously a different drill than what EAG calls a “box drill.”]
LAV—The maximum number of rounds for productive is 250-300 per session (200 each with 2 guns).
Drill #28—Figure 8
Variation of #27 in which shooter moves around barrels in a figure 8 instead of a box. Shots are fired as shooter moves diagonally between corners.
LAV—“I’m here to give you what you need, not what you want.”
Equipment Issues—One student had a Burwell Gunsmithing trigger job on a M&P40 that went full auto on TD1. He finished the class with a borrowed Glock 17. Another student had a Fobus holster that crapped out (“Buy cheap; buy twice.”). I started out with a 1911 that I only had 250 rounds through since I got it back from a gun plumber for sights, trigger, and reliability work. Unfortunately I noticed after about 400 rounds that the rear sight was loose and was sliding from side to side. Fortunately I had another similar pistol with me for just such a purpose and was able to keep going with no interruptions (“Two is one; one is none.”) I was using a new Comp-Tac belt holster that worked really well, but the retention-adjustment screws backed out, and I had to adjust them on TD3. Me thinks I need to apply some Loctite.
Observations and Conclusions—My final round count was 936. I’m sure that the better shooters that lasted longer in the competitions shot a bit more. Larry Vickers places a strong emphasis on marksmanship/accuracy, which is the area of my shooting that I feel needs the most improvement. Fortunately he gave us many drills that should be of great benefit if I practice them. Despite a relatively low round count as compared with some instructors, the emphasis on accuracy and keeping shots within a bullseye target was mentally fatiguing. By the end of TD3, it was apparent that most students, myself included, were pretty well on overload as a result of training outside their comfort zones (a good thing). I very much look forward to training with Larry again in the future.
Logistics—This was my fourth time to the Quinn Ranch in the past two years. It is a large working ranch that just happens to have a 50-yard range that is very adequate for this sort of training. Don’t, however, expect a lot in the way of amenities. Bring your own toilet paper, a folding chair, and sunscreen. Brady (http://www.bradytx.com/), home of the World Championship Goat Cook-Off, is just south of the geographic center of Texas, so it’s centrally located for those of us who live in the Lone Star State. According to Google Maps it’s 223 miles from Dallas Fort Worth Airport, 133 miles from Austin-Bergstrom Airport, and 139 miles from San Antonio International. I’ve stayed at the Best Western, which is very nice for a small town motel, three times. Their “deluxe” continental breakfast is adequate, and they have WiFi and refrigerators in the rooms. Brady has a new Super Wally World right across from the Best Western. I have Verizon cellular service and cannot get a signal either in town or at the ranch. Others with different carriers seemed to have no problems. Larry allowed more than an hour for lunch, so that students could make the 10-minute drive into town. There is a Subway and a McDonalds if you want fast food. I prefer to bring a sandwich and enjoy the company of other students.
Kudos—Many thanks to the Quinns for hosting another world-class training opportunity. Thanks also to Lloyd Gully for his efforts organizing these classes. Kudos to TangoDown and to Hilton Yam / 10-8 Performance for providing mag releases, sights, and triggers for competition prizes. Of course thanks to Larry Vickers for traveling to Texas and teaching such a great class. I hope that we can get him to come back again next year.
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Originally Posted by SHIVAN
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