Course: Larry Vickers 2-Day Level-1 Pistol & Carbine
Date: May 16-17, 2015
Location: Southern Hills Tactical (SHT) - Custer, SD
Tuition: $525.00

On the Web:
http://aliastraining.com/larryvickers.aspx
https://www.facebook.com/AliasTrainingLLC
http://vickerstactical.com/

http://www.southernhillstactical.com/
https://www.facebook.com/southernhillstacticalllc

Course Description
Topics covered include handgun safety, stance, zeroing sights, sight alignment and trigger control. Familiarization with their handgun includes field stripping and maintenance. Other subject matter that is covered includes reloads, presentation, strong side & weak side shooting, shooting positions, use of cover, and introduction to different skill drills including dry fire and bullseye shooting. Malfunction drills and shooting on the move. Timed fire drills and evaluations based on class skill level.
Administrative
Course information and enrollment was handled through Alias. Communications from Paul and Sarah were excellent. Local host POC and area information, along with packing lists were provided in advance of training days.

Instructor
The class was instructed by Larry Vickers, well credentialed to conduct the course. His bio is published at the Alias links above. Larry was friendly and interactive. He was available to students throughout the training days before and after class, including a class meal on TD1. Rough language and humor was limited. There were no assistant instructors.

Students
This open enrollment course consisted of 18 students of varied backgrounds from the surrounding region. There were several LE and mil personnel along with regular folks. A 14yo student, son of another course attendee, kept pace with others on the line much senior to him. He represented youth in the shooting sports (and his parents) well.

Facilities
Range conditions, equipment, and support facilities were excellent. SHT is a grass and gravel range with a sheltered area, along with a well-stocked pro shop that was priced competitively. Mike, the course host was present throughout the class along with his personnel. One was a particularly good baker, and provided trays of treats for the class. The live fire ranges were closed to the public for this class.

Course Supplies
Other than range equipment and targets, all course supplies were provided by individual students. The packing list was correct and adequate for course activities. There were no manuals, handouts, or other learning aids distributed. Students used mostly simple EDC gear, with a a smaller number using basic bat-belts and dump pouches.

My gear:
gen4 Glock 17, Black Hills Ammo 9mm 115 FMJ
Colt AR6720 w/ Aimpoint T1, Black Hills Ammo 5.56 62gr TSX and 55 FMJ
Basic EDC/CCW gear

Course Activities
Class began with a sign-in period in the shop. Students completed waivers and were issued a wristband to identify themselves to range staff and each other. SHT was normally open to the public, but closed for this event. As the range shared a berm with the local airport, safety procedures and stops for airfield activity were outlined.

All class activity was conducted on the range. The instructor introduction was very brief, as most students were already aware of his bio or some discussion of same had already occurred. A brief description of the two days of training was provided along with some basic instructor expectations. A short safety brief was also provided emphasizing Larry’s perspective on the four rules of firearms safety. There were no student introductions, nor range emergency plan shared.

TD1 was dedicated exclusively to handgun work. Larry’s COI was built upon the priority of accuracy, heavily emphasizing trigger discipline. A series of progressive drills were explained, instructor-demonstrated, and conducted either individually or with student partners. Targets used were USPSA with a B8 bullseye overlay placed high on the chest. Instruction included fundamentals of drawing, firing, reloading, stoppage clearance, and strong hand shooting. Live fire drills were shot the 3, 6, or 9 yard line almost exclusively. Despite the close distance, the accuracy and performance demands imposed were challenging to even the best shooters in the class. Timed drills and team competition added stress and revealed additional strengths and weaknesses in students.

TD2 emphasized carbine work with added handgun transition work. It followed the same construct in both objectives and exercises. Most exercises were at the 7, 14, or 21 yard line, but others stretched incrementally to the 50. Additional, rifle specific instruction included zeroing, and alternate positions. Timed and team drills were also scattered throughout.

On one of the training days, the Glock commercial sales rep for the region dropped in for a site visit to SHT. After the class period ended for the day, students were able to test fire an assortment of Glock models with all ammunition provided. The Glock visit was not part of the class, but a lucky coincidence of scheduling.

Throughout these major activities, there was additional discussion and collateral information prompted by student questions or observations on the line. Many are found in Larry’s writings and other productions (TAC-TV, etc). The balance are the added value that comes from attending these classes in person and are omitted here.

Larry notes a decline in student performance at the 3:00 and/or 300rd mark and classes started winding down at that point accordingly.

Round count HG: 416
Round count carbine: 272

High Points
This was an excellent class in core fundamentals, applicable to students of all abilities and disciplines. Drill sets were logical, well sequenced, and driven by student performance.

Larry is an excellent teacher. Throughout the class, he used varied instructional methods for high quality adult learning. A good example of this is the use of large group coaching, instructor demonstration, student demonstration, student performance of the drill, then group review/remediation. Doing so is both a good management tool for this student:instructor ratio and promotes interactive learning. Additional on-line 1:1 coaching was saved for students with particular needs.

There are only so many ways to run a gun, and an increasing number of instructors from high level communities teaching them. Despite that, each brings their own gems in doing so. Larry had several.

Despite Larry’s professional accomplishments, there was far less leg-humping by students than I had expected and is commonly seen on the net. Students focused more on training, than entertrainment.

Druthers
  • Add student introduction period.
  • Add range emergency procedure to safety brief.


This course was…
…the basics, reframed, reviewed, and revitalized.
…quality learning, quality instruction, and time well spent.

This course was not…
…spend a weekend with a celebrity.
…SOCOM day camp.
...an ammo SPENDEX.

Thank you Larry, Paul and Sarah at Alias, and the Southern Hills Tactical crew.

Select class pics are on the Alias FB site (above), or in the SHT FB album here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...2342151&type=3