After Action Review
Larry Vickers, Vickers Tactical (
www.vickerstactical.com)
Advanced Tactics Course, pistol and rifle
September 22nd, 2013
Council Bluffs, IA
Rob from
www.lhgk.us hosted the training at his range.
We were expected to show up with our rifle zeroed and a good understanding of it capabilities. Out of 24 shooters I was the only one that shot iron sights. Larry went over the safety rules for the range and the plan for the day.
Shooting while moving.
We immediately started shooting on the move. We shot while moving forward, backward and diagonal. Accuracy was stressed. We shot bulls-eye paper targets and tried to not break the shot until we could get the hit on the black. If you are within 25 yards with the rifle and you need to reload or clear a malfunction, just go to pistol.
Ballistics Tests on car.
We shot through a car with different types of rifle and pistol ammo to see what different types of rounds do to different parts of the car. We shot a 90’s Chevy Cavalier with everything from .223 to .380 auto. We shot at the engine block, through the front door, through the rear door and through the trunk. For pistols, the .40 and .45 punched through much better than the 9mm. Mass made a huge different when going through metal. Some went through, some did not. We also tried a CSAT Glass Assault Tool that one of the shooters had and it worked great on the windows. We were surprised that the .223 only when through one of the front doors and did not punch out the other door. The trunk was revealed to be a particularly hard area to shoot through. Again, this surprised us until we investigated and found that the trunk contained two full-sized spare tires. We removed one and then more rounds went through after that. Conclusions: A car is very inconsistent for cover because each car is built so differently with so many variables. Except for the engine compartment. The engine compartment is consistent cover. Try to get the engine block in between you and the threat and then move away from the car as soon as possible.
Bail Out Drill
Next we performed a two-man bail out drill. We started seated in the car and received contact from the driver’s side. We were unable to drive away so we decided to bail out. We moved as a team to get the engine block in between us and the threat. Then we fired and maneuvered down the parking lot to two other parked cars. Try to have at least one guy firing at all times. We had to figure out how to communicate with vision, hands and taps since during a gunfight no one is talking.
Lunch
Shooting and Moving
We did two man team movement from the car positions. We also did this as a 6-man team. Again accuracy and use of cover was stressed and we were challenged to make accurate hits inside par times. We also ran this drill while shooting from our support side shoulder. An array of different gear was used and some shooters lost mags while constantly moving quickly in and out of difficult positions.
Shooting from a Moving Vehicle
We then shot steel targets from a seated position from the back of a moving truck. This proved to be incredibly difficult. We were taught to brace our feet and try to let our upper body float. We did this with both rifle and pistol. We found that being seated the very back of the pickup bed was much more difficult than being seated next to the cab.
It was a fun day and I was challenged a great deal to shoot with accuracy with both weapon systems. The class gave me a good opportunity to test and become familiar with ballistics, use of cover and team movement.
For more training AARs visit us as
www.avoidthefight.com
