possum
Member
Defensive Concepts North Carolina Low Light Handgun AAR.
When and where:
December 8th 2012, Trigger Time Training area in Carthage, N.C.
Who:
Instructors: Chris and Steve.
Students:
As usual in a training course there were students from various backgrounds. We had a medical school student, former .mil guys, a husband wife team, an oil company owner, and an awesome pilot to name a few of the ten that attended. If I remember correctly everyone in the class had at least some prior training before the class. However, it was the first time in a DCNC class for all of us.
A little about me:
Depending on what forum this is posted on, readers will know all of this already. However, for the forums that this is posted to that people don’t know me; I will add this section so the reader can see where I am coming from. I spent a few years in The US Army as an 11b and served three tours in OIF. I go to the range on a regular basis and though I don’t shoot as much as I would like I do as much as I can. I have trained with multiple instructors/ schools over the last few years.
Why:
We all know that a great deal of defensive encounters occur in periods of low light. Low light training is something that we need to work on. However, it is hard to find a company that will do it and a facility that will allow it. Additionally, if you do find a company that will do it, the low light portion of the class is normally a couple hours in a total of 2-3 days of training. So the DCNC one day format is perfect for me in my focus on low light training and my work schedule.
Why I chose DCNC is simple. It is close to my home, they have one day formats, and they have ties with some great instructors in the community. I.E. Chris is the regional Vicker’s Shooting Method instructor (VSM). In short he is endorsed by LAV. To me that says a lot. Additionally, the price of their courses the reviews that I have read and the personal conversations I have had with Chris were big pluses as well.
Guns and Gear:
I used my glock 19 and 10 factory magazines. I carried 2 spare kydex mag pouches, a kydex handheld light pouch, and an MMA IWB holster. I own Ludus Magnus Holsters so as you can imagine all the kydex gear was built by me. All of this gear was worn on an Ares Ranger Belt. For lights I had my old Surefire Z2 light and a G2z light as a spare. I did take my TLR-1 weapon mounted light but I did not use it as I wanted to do it the “harder” way and use a handheld light. I would soon learn though that even if I had my light on my gun, I would not really have been able to use it as the material was focused on using a handheld light and for good reason.
I had no issues with the kydex gear and Ares belt. However, my handheld lights are not LED and they are very low in lumens. I need to upgrade my handheld lights. I have had my two lights for many years and when I got them they were about the standard in the industry. That is not true anymore. I also had a couple issues of brass coming back in my face when shooting my g-19. This is an issue that has started only in the last few months or so. My g-19 is a generation three and after searching the issue on various forums, I have found that this is not an uncommon issue. I have taken measures to rectify this issue and will continue to do so until I get it fixed. It is not something that happens all the time, but it is annoying when it does.
Ammo: Speer Lawman 115gr FMJ (524rds fired)
Training Day:
As is customary we started with the “I might die today and you can’t sue us if you do” form that is at every class. We then got into introductions which included the instructors and the students. We were then asked if we wanted a profanity free class or not. We opted for the profanity heavy course of instruction. We then went into the firearms safety rules, and medical plan.
Then we got into the lecture portion of the class that was aided with a hand out. Some people hate lectures and just want to go to a class and start sending rounds down range. I do not mind a lecture at all. Especially if it is a good one and the low light lecture was indeed a good one. In the lecture we were told the 10 principles of low light operations, went over various techniques for using a handheld light. We did not cover every one that is out there and for good reason. We stuck to the most common ones. Additionally, we talked about sight set-ups for shooting in low light, how to contrast rear sights, and how to choose a good defensive light.
The handheld light techniques that we discussed in the lecture were Harries, Modified Harries, Modified FBI, neck index, Rogers/ Surefire, and Ayoob. In the actual live fire portion we stuck to the first four. Prior to the class I was confident with the neck index as that is my default method. It was great to be “forced” to do the other three techniques. After the class I was more comfortable with the other three methods. I have said for a long time, and it was confirmed in the class that you need one technique for both sides of the gun. For me that had always been neck index on the left side of the gun and the Harries for the right side of the gun (I am right handed). However, the Harries is not one that you want to stay in a long time. If you are doing it right it causes some serious irritation in your shoulder and is very fatiguing.
On the Range:
We started with an 18rd (3 magazines of 6rds) diagnostic. This was fired at 7-10yds two handed. This was used to gauge the level of the shooter and make sure that we could draw, fire, and reload in a safe manner. This drill was shot on a full IPSC target. Afterwards, Chris discussed the various ways to place shots to stop a threat as efficiently as possible. He then went and illustrated the “acceptable” size target areas for the chest and the head. Head shots were to land in the “credit” card on the ipsc target. The chest target area was a triangle with the base about nipple to nipple in width. It was stressed that we make up shots. Whatever the round count was called we didn’t fire that many rounds unless they were all hits. Any misses were to be made up. As you can imagine pretty much every handheld light technique makes it so that you can only use one hand, or a very poor two hand grasp on the gun in some techniques. As a result shooting over 500rds in a day of weapon hand only makes for some pulled shots throughout the day.
In the day light we practiced all of the low light techniques. This was basically getting the gun on target safely without flagging ourselves, and getting the light into position. Everything that we did during the day we would later do at night. We started all the new techniques by having the gun and the light out. Then we progressed to having the light out, drawing the handgun, getting the light into position and then making our hits.
We then broke for lunch and went to a Chinese buffet in town which wasn’t bad and it didn’t make me sick so that was a plus. After returning to the range, we got vtac targets set up and were shown the acceptable hit areas on them. We then revisited the same material and the same techniques we did earlier in the day light. However, this time it was dark and we had to make sure that our lights were not just in position but that they were actually casting light on the target. We were then directed that on the “threat” command we would hit the target with the light to ensure that we had positive target ID and then draw, re-light and engage. We went through the various techniques in this manner until we completed all of them. At one point we shot a string of four rounds two handed with no light at all I was very happy with the results. If I remember correctly 3 of my 4 rounds were inside the chest box on the vtac target and one was just outside on the top of the box. The last event was shooting from cover on steel. This was an awesome way to end the night. Chris called out the target number, round count and the light technique that we had to use on each rep until we went through all of the techniques. At the end of our run we had to engage both targets but we could use any technique that we wanted.
My accuracy and being pushed:
Without a doubt I was pushed to be better by this course. I do shoot a great deal one handed, both weapon and reaction hand only. However, I still pulled many shots and didn’t fare as well as I would have hoped but I rarely do. I will say that I prefer light techniques that allow me a one handed shooting position that is more natural and like a position that I would shoot from without a light. I. E. The neck index and the modified FBI style allowed me to shoot one handed in the same manner that always do. I have always found that in the Harries style I shoot low. The gun is closer to my face and I am in more of a weaver stance. All around I hate the position that I have to shoot from and my target was representative of that. The modified Harries was about the same. It was easy to tell what technique I was most comfortable with and which techniques that I could get the best hits with. This was a great one handed shooting clinic to say the least.
A side note on using the evil slide release:
This is no something that was discussed in the class but something that I thought about a few weeks before the class. I have also seen Chris post about this before. I went to the range a week or so before the class and wanted to do some low light techniques (day light) and see where I stood. On the Harries I shot low like I did in the class. As customary, I downloaded my magazines at the range to make the most use of training for reloads. As I have found before, reloading with a light in your hand is not the easiest thing in the world. Manually releasing the slide is not easy either. It is easier with some handheld light techniques more than others. However, that is what we do because that is what the industry has told us for so long. Then a light bulb went off. It is hard to manually rack the slide because of the lack of grasp that you can obtain with a light in your hand, so why not use the slide release. My justification was that no matter what light technique I was using, it was much easier to hit the slide release. So for the rest of the day at the range I downloaded my magazines even more and used the slide release every time. I also made it a point through the low light course to do the same thing. I used the class as a test bed for using the slide release.
Some people will immediately discount this as it is against the latest and greatest trend in the industry and it goes against their favorite instructor’s “way”. People will say that I should know better and that only amateurs or competition guys do this and that no one training for a fight would. Wrong. Not only does it help in low light scenarios but look at the big picture. If you have to do a one handed reload (not with a light in your hand) what is the industry norm? Use the sights to rack the slide off of a belt or holster etc to send the slide and a round home. Why not use the slide release in that situation as well? What saves you time in a fight? How much time does it save you in a fight, and how long is that amount of time in a fight? Also, people will say that not all handguns have a slide release. I can assure you that any gun that I have for defense has a slide release.
Let me be specific about how I release the slide. I use my reaction hand thumb to depress the slide release after I have inserted the fresh magazine into the gun. So for me with small hand this is perfect because I do not have to twist the gun in my hand, and reach for the slide release. However, if for some reason I had to use my weapon hand thumb to do it, I can (in the case of one arm being hurt, or pinning someone behind me etc.
The big complaint about using the slide release is that it is a fine motor skill and that under stress you will only be able to conduct gross motor skills. I am departing more and more from this train of thought through personal experience and common sense. Let me ask you this: If depressing the slide release is a fine motor skill, what about hitting that small magazine release? How about pulling the trigger? When I say pulling the trigger I mean a smooth press to the rear that does not disrupt the sight alignment from start to finish. So under stress apply precise trigger press is not a fine motor skill, and neither is hitting the small magazine release, but hitting the slide release is? Think about it and make your own decision.
Conclusion:
Forgive the rant. All in all this was a great course. I was pushed in many ways and learned a great deal. I am now comfortable with all of the positions that were taught and will continue to work on them to become better with them. Especially the Harries and Modified Harries. More importantly I am confident with the various techniques in their practical application in the real world. I will defiantly go back to DCNC in the future and have a long list of courses that I want to take with them. Steve and Chris did a great job of passing the information along and made for a great, safe day of training. I like the way that Chris and Steve handle business and the way that they instruct. They will let you know if you are messed up and they will tell you how to fix it. Plenty of individual attention was given to anyone that needed it. Questions were answered in a very clear and concise manner. No politician answers, and no long drawn out answers with huge words that the majority of the people in the industry don’t know the meaning of (sorry another small rant). All in all a great class that I would recommend to those that need low light training.
When and where:
December 8th 2012, Trigger Time Training area in Carthage, N.C.
Who:
Instructors: Chris and Steve.
Students:
As usual in a training course there were students from various backgrounds. We had a medical school student, former .mil guys, a husband wife team, an oil company owner, and an awesome pilot to name a few of the ten that attended. If I remember correctly everyone in the class had at least some prior training before the class. However, it was the first time in a DCNC class for all of us.
A little about me:
Depending on what forum this is posted on, readers will know all of this already. However, for the forums that this is posted to that people don’t know me; I will add this section so the reader can see where I am coming from. I spent a few years in The US Army as an 11b and served three tours in OIF. I go to the range on a regular basis and though I don’t shoot as much as I would like I do as much as I can. I have trained with multiple instructors/ schools over the last few years.
Why:
We all know that a great deal of defensive encounters occur in periods of low light. Low light training is something that we need to work on. However, it is hard to find a company that will do it and a facility that will allow it. Additionally, if you do find a company that will do it, the low light portion of the class is normally a couple hours in a total of 2-3 days of training. So the DCNC one day format is perfect for me in my focus on low light training and my work schedule.
Why I chose DCNC is simple. It is close to my home, they have one day formats, and they have ties with some great instructors in the community. I.E. Chris is the regional Vicker’s Shooting Method instructor (VSM). In short he is endorsed by LAV. To me that says a lot. Additionally, the price of their courses the reviews that I have read and the personal conversations I have had with Chris were big pluses as well.
Guns and Gear:
I used my glock 19 and 10 factory magazines. I carried 2 spare kydex mag pouches, a kydex handheld light pouch, and an MMA IWB holster. I own Ludus Magnus Holsters so as you can imagine all the kydex gear was built by me. All of this gear was worn on an Ares Ranger Belt. For lights I had my old Surefire Z2 light and a G2z light as a spare. I did take my TLR-1 weapon mounted light but I did not use it as I wanted to do it the “harder” way and use a handheld light. I would soon learn though that even if I had my light on my gun, I would not really have been able to use it as the material was focused on using a handheld light and for good reason.
I had no issues with the kydex gear and Ares belt. However, my handheld lights are not LED and they are very low in lumens. I need to upgrade my handheld lights. I have had my two lights for many years and when I got them they were about the standard in the industry. That is not true anymore. I also had a couple issues of brass coming back in my face when shooting my g-19. This is an issue that has started only in the last few months or so. My g-19 is a generation three and after searching the issue on various forums, I have found that this is not an uncommon issue. I have taken measures to rectify this issue and will continue to do so until I get it fixed. It is not something that happens all the time, but it is annoying when it does.
Ammo: Speer Lawman 115gr FMJ (524rds fired)
Training Day:
As is customary we started with the “I might die today and you can’t sue us if you do” form that is at every class. We then got into introductions which included the instructors and the students. We were then asked if we wanted a profanity free class or not. We opted for the profanity heavy course of instruction. We then went into the firearms safety rules, and medical plan.
Then we got into the lecture portion of the class that was aided with a hand out. Some people hate lectures and just want to go to a class and start sending rounds down range. I do not mind a lecture at all. Especially if it is a good one and the low light lecture was indeed a good one. In the lecture we were told the 10 principles of low light operations, went over various techniques for using a handheld light. We did not cover every one that is out there and for good reason. We stuck to the most common ones. Additionally, we talked about sight set-ups for shooting in low light, how to contrast rear sights, and how to choose a good defensive light.
The handheld light techniques that we discussed in the lecture were Harries, Modified Harries, Modified FBI, neck index, Rogers/ Surefire, and Ayoob. In the actual live fire portion we stuck to the first four. Prior to the class I was confident with the neck index as that is my default method. It was great to be “forced” to do the other three techniques. After the class I was more comfortable with the other three methods. I have said for a long time, and it was confirmed in the class that you need one technique for both sides of the gun. For me that had always been neck index on the left side of the gun and the Harries for the right side of the gun (I am right handed). However, the Harries is not one that you want to stay in a long time. If you are doing it right it causes some serious irritation in your shoulder and is very fatiguing.
On the Range:
We started with an 18rd (3 magazines of 6rds) diagnostic. This was fired at 7-10yds two handed. This was used to gauge the level of the shooter and make sure that we could draw, fire, and reload in a safe manner. This drill was shot on a full IPSC target. Afterwards, Chris discussed the various ways to place shots to stop a threat as efficiently as possible. He then went and illustrated the “acceptable” size target areas for the chest and the head. Head shots were to land in the “credit” card on the ipsc target. The chest target area was a triangle with the base about nipple to nipple in width. It was stressed that we make up shots. Whatever the round count was called we didn’t fire that many rounds unless they were all hits. Any misses were to be made up. As you can imagine pretty much every handheld light technique makes it so that you can only use one hand, or a very poor two hand grasp on the gun in some techniques. As a result shooting over 500rds in a day of weapon hand only makes for some pulled shots throughout the day.
In the day light we practiced all of the low light techniques. This was basically getting the gun on target safely without flagging ourselves, and getting the light into position. Everything that we did during the day we would later do at night. We started all the new techniques by having the gun and the light out. Then we progressed to having the light out, drawing the handgun, getting the light into position and then making our hits.
We then broke for lunch and went to a Chinese buffet in town which wasn’t bad and it didn’t make me sick so that was a plus. After returning to the range, we got vtac targets set up and were shown the acceptable hit areas on them. We then revisited the same material and the same techniques we did earlier in the day light. However, this time it was dark and we had to make sure that our lights were not just in position but that they were actually casting light on the target. We were then directed that on the “threat” command we would hit the target with the light to ensure that we had positive target ID and then draw, re-light and engage. We went through the various techniques in this manner until we completed all of them. At one point we shot a string of four rounds two handed with no light at all I was very happy with the results. If I remember correctly 3 of my 4 rounds were inside the chest box on the vtac target and one was just outside on the top of the box. The last event was shooting from cover on steel. This was an awesome way to end the night. Chris called out the target number, round count and the light technique that we had to use on each rep until we went through all of the techniques. At the end of our run we had to engage both targets but we could use any technique that we wanted.
My accuracy and being pushed:
Without a doubt I was pushed to be better by this course. I do shoot a great deal one handed, both weapon and reaction hand only. However, I still pulled many shots and didn’t fare as well as I would have hoped but I rarely do. I will say that I prefer light techniques that allow me a one handed shooting position that is more natural and like a position that I would shoot from without a light. I. E. The neck index and the modified FBI style allowed me to shoot one handed in the same manner that always do. I have always found that in the Harries style I shoot low. The gun is closer to my face and I am in more of a weaver stance. All around I hate the position that I have to shoot from and my target was representative of that. The modified Harries was about the same. It was easy to tell what technique I was most comfortable with and which techniques that I could get the best hits with. This was a great one handed shooting clinic to say the least.
A side note on using the evil slide release:
This is no something that was discussed in the class but something that I thought about a few weeks before the class. I have also seen Chris post about this before. I went to the range a week or so before the class and wanted to do some low light techniques (day light) and see where I stood. On the Harries I shot low like I did in the class. As customary, I downloaded my magazines at the range to make the most use of training for reloads. As I have found before, reloading with a light in your hand is not the easiest thing in the world. Manually releasing the slide is not easy either. It is easier with some handheld light techniques more than others. However, that is what we do because that is what the industry has told us for so long. Then a light bulb went off. It is hard to manually rack the slide because of the lack of grasp that you can obtain with a light in your hand, so why not use the slide release. My justification was that no matter what light technique I was using, it was much easier to hit the slide release. So for the rest of the day at the range I downloaded my magazines even more and used the slide release every time. I also made it a point through the low light course to do the same thing. I used the class as a test bed for using the slide release.
Some people will immediately discount this as it is against the latest and greatest trend in the industry and it goes against their favorite instructor’s “way”. People will say that I should know better and that only amateurs or competition guys do this and that no one training for a fight would. Wrong. Not only does it help in low light scenarios but look at the big picture. If you have to do a one handed reload (not with a light in your hand) what is the industry norm? Use the sights to rack the slide off of a belt or holster etc to send the slide and a round home. Why not use the slide release in that situation as well? What saves you time in a fight? How much time does it save you in a fight, and how long is that amount of time in a fight? Also, people will say that not all handguns have a slide release. I can assure you that any gun that I have for defense has a slide release.
Let me be specific about how I release the slide. I use my reaction hand thumb to depress the slide release after I have inserted the fresh magazine into the gun. So for me with small hand this is perfect because I do not have to twist the gun in my hand, and reach for the slide release. However, if for some reason I had to use my weapon hand thumb to do it, I can (in the case of one arm being hurt, or pinning someone behind me etc.
The big complaint about using the slide release is that it is a fine motor skill and that under stress you will only be able to conduct gross motor skills. I am departing more and more from this train of thought through personal experience and common sense. Let me ask you this: If depressing the slide release is a fine motor skill, what about hitting that small magazine release? How about pulling the trigger? When I say pulling the trigger I mean a smooth press to the rear that does not disrupt the sight alignment from start to finish. So under stress apply precise trigger press is not a fine motor skill, and neither is hitting the small magazine release, but hitting the slide release is? Think about it and make your own decision.
Conclusion:
Forgive the rant. All in all this was a great course. I was pushed in many ways and learned a great deal. I am now comfortable with all of the positions that were taught and will continue to work on them to become better with them. Especially the Harries and Modified Harries. More importantly I am confident with the various techniques in their practical application in the real world. I will defiantly go back to DCNC in the future and have a long list of courses that I want to take with them. Steve and Chris did a great job of passing the information along and made for a great, safe day of training. I like the way that Chris and Steve handle business and the way that they instruct. They will let you know if you are messed up and they will tell you how to fix it. Plenty of individual attention was given to anyone that needed it. Questions were answered in a very clear and concise manner. No politician answers, and no long drawn out answers with huge words that the majority of the people in the industry don’t know the meaning of (sorry another small rant). All in all a great class that I would recommend to those that need low light training.
