Instructor/Company: Larry Vickers of Vickers Tactical. His depth of knowledge was clear right from the start. More than once Vickers would introduce a new concept or block of instruction, tell us the mistakes we were liable to make, and how to correct them. Vickers also has a knack for education evident by punctuating the lessons at the right time with humor, a competition, or a short water break. As a side note, and especially since it’s Veteran’s Day, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the servicemen and women out there. One thing this class drove home, to me at least, is the the experience that permits Vickers to be such an effective instructor was gained in part by missing only God knows how many birthdays, soccer games, anniversaries, etc while in the service. So, again, big thank you to the veterans out there for their constant sacrifice.
Location: H2O Fowl Farms in Dunn, NC.
Weather: Mid-to-low 40s in the morning with frost on the ground, getting up to 60 by early afternoon. Sunny.
Class: 25 students shooting in two relays comprising what seemed to be mostly civilians with some local police. Two Grey Group employees who help keep things running smoothly behind the scenes attended and deserve a big thank you.
If anything’s out of order or mis-stated, I apologize. Likewise, I’ll attempt to answer any questions.
We started off with a review of the NRA gun safety rules with an addendum on how they apply in different scenarios for the soldier, law enforcement officer, and civilian. We were also implored to join the NRA, which is appropriate for an basic or intro level class of shooters. Finally, we were briefed that accuracy is king for a number of reasons, one of which is that the upper human torso might be the best available backstop if you find yourself in a real shooting. The class shot B8 targets stapled to silhouettes with a 1” by 1” square on the head and were expected to cover all shots from 3yds with our thumb, 6 yrds kept within the 10 ring, and 9yrds+ covered with an open hand. We were told to brace ourselves for the big dose of the fundamentals and were not disappointed.
For instance, we began with dry fire at 3yds and with a shell casing on the front sight with the goal of establishing the perfect trigger pull, assessed by Vickers to be much more important to accurate shooting than sight picture.
We didn’t spend much time on the stance other than to emulate a boxer with the intent to break an opponent’s jaw. We didn’t really cover grip in much depth beyond what we learned next in the draw. Again, trigger control was the prime issue during class.
Vickers’s famous line that anyone can pull the the trigger perfectly in a fiscal year was hammered home with ball and dummy practice with the timer set to 3/10s of a second. Ball and dummy done with five dry fires mixed in after a poor shot is both diagnostic and corrective. We also did ball and dummy from the low ready position. This is a perfect way to introduce a new step to the class while keeping focus on perfect trigger pull.
The draw was introduced as the shortest way to point your finger from your belt to your target. The genius is in the simplicity, especially for an intro class. I’ve been taught both a four and a five step draw before, but if that was the raw material, the point-to-the-target is the final and finished product. Support hand should just cross mid-line of torso, index under the trigger guard, and finalize a shooting grip during the remainder of presentation.
One particular block of instruction that turned a light bulb on for me was trigger reset, which Vickers advocates during recoil. I’ve had this explained to me before, and even run the some of the same drills before, but it came across very clearly and simply during this class. Somewhere along the way, I picked up the bad habit or “training scar” of pulling the trigger and releasing just after recoil. This is something I’ll keep working on during my own time to improve.
We closed out the morning shooting a steel silhouette in a walk back drill starting at about 20-25M where almost everyone advanced given two attempts. 35-40M knocked almost everyone out. Only two shooters, Vickers and a student, made it to about 70M and the drill ended when Vickers missed his attempts and the student connected (both very graciously). We broke for an hour and I recommend to prospective students to bring your lunch to the ranch if the weather’s nice. It really beats driving somewhere for McDonald’s or similar.
After lunch, we covered the reload: Drop magazine, pistol to work space, magazine up, look at magazine well for a split second, eyes back on target, release slide with support hand thumb as the pistol’s on the way back out. I have gotten into the habit of releasing the slide with my strong hand thumb, so I’m trying to master the support hand thumb release with no small amount of dry practice.
We picked and named teams for competitions against both steel and paper. Counting off one through five might have been quicker, but the team competitions certainly get the heart pumping with some self-induced stress.
We closed out the day with an introduction to shooting on the move going forward and reverse.
Bottom Line:
Would I recommend the course to a friend: Yes, although I would probably not recommend this class to someone with no prior pistol experience. It’s easy to see how this class builds on what is taught at a VSM class.
Would I take the course again: Yes.
Equipment:
A wide variety of pistols were shot during this course. Glocks, 1911s, M&Ps, along with a few others I could not identify were all present. Vickers shot a Walther PPQ, which he reported being fond of, out of Raven Concealment gear. My dad, my friend Chris, and I each shot around 300 rounds of 124gr PMC Bronze.
I shot a third generation G19 equipped with 10-8 Performance sights, a Vickers-TangoDown magazine release, a Glockmeister grip plug, and smooth trigger. I’m pretty happy with this set up at this time. It’s reliable and accurate. During this class I used Smith Optics Aegis Echo eye protection, which are a big step up in comfort from the original Aegis glasses.
My dad fired a 2006 vintage CPO P226 on which Bruce Gray performed his Reduced Reset Comprehensive Duty Package and installed Trijicon three dot sights. No problems outside of a malfunction where the rounds in one magazine failed to properly feed and the top few wound up bullet down in the magazine somehow. The magazine in question will be segregated and put through the ringer to see if that was a sign of things to come or a one off. Gray does tremendous work with these pistols, his services are well worth it.
Chris used a new third generation G17 with less than 500 rounds through it with five OEM magazines and experienced none of the issues that seem to be cropping up lately with third generation Glocks. A combination of procrastination and Hurricane Sandy prevented installation of Heinie sights and a Vickers slide release, but a Vickers-TangoDown magazine release aided reloads. Even with the crappy stock Glock sights, which Vickers decried a couple times, Chris still showed improvement on both steel and paper. Before lunch he scored two back-to-back hits on a steel silhouette at approximately 45M. It’s tough to over-state the value of learning the correct methods from the start.
All three of us used CompTac belt holsters and magazine carriers on Wilderness Tactical 5 stitch instructor belts.
A note on hearing protection:
All three of us used Peltor Tactical 6S hearing protection, which performed adequately, though it is a nut roll to replace the batteries. During one of the most humorous moments of the class, Vickers asked how many of us had smart phones. (Easily 90% of the class raises hands). Vickers replies by asking how many of us have these [electronic hearing protection]. (About two thirds of the class raises hands). We were informed at this point that if we had a smart phone but lacked electronic hearing protection, a urinalysis would be necessary. In fact, Vickers was so concerned, he offered to ascertain the employers of the offending parties and place a call himself to the employer to arrange a piss test. Great times. Vickers spoke highly of a higher end model of Peltor and indicated you get what you pay for. Buy once, cry once, etc; no matter how you say it, it’s sage advice.
Pictures were taken and I assume will be posted at some point
