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Established
I apologize ahead of time for any vagueness, omissions, or mistakes in the AAR, as my notes are a bit incomplete, due to the fast tempo of the class and various times of reduced visibility due to lack of lighting.
This was my first course with an emphasis on vehicles. I had small amount of prior knowledge of vehicle ballistics through online reading and informal discussions with well-versed acquaintances; I have also taken multiple pistol courses from various well-regarded instructors, including several low-light courses, some edged weapons work, some combatives, and one carbine course.
I used an H&K P30LS with the Grayguns Reduced Reset Carry Perfection Package carried in condition 1, with an X400 Ultra - Green laser mounted with the DG-11 and zeroed for 25 yards. Sights were a Trijicon RMR RM06 mounted by L&M Precision, with a Dawson Precision suppressor height front sight and Ameriglo suppressor height rear sight mounted behind the RMR. Lube was FIREClean, magazines were modified with Taylor Freelance Border Special +5 magazine extentions with the included Wolff springs (these were the first generation product that I loaded only up to +4), carried using Kytex Shooting Gear open top magazine carriers. My handheld was the Surefire E1B, slightly modified with a zip tie and two Scünci No Damage elastic hair bands to form a jury rigged lanyard. For the TD1, besides the usage of an addition of a second magazine carrier, removal of the phone from my belt, and replacement of my low-cut sneakers for Salomon trail runners, my set-up was identical to my EDC: appendix carry with a slightly modified RCS Phantom at the 0100 position, t-shirt with relatively form-fitting jeans, The Wilderness Ti Instructor belt, SFB, folders, etc. PPE used were Oakley M-Frames 3.0, MSA Sordin Supreme Pro-X with gel earpads and OC Tactical headband, and Arc'teryx Knee Caps. Round count of the P30LS was 14532 at the start of the class.
William Petty was the primary instructor, with Matthew Shockey as the AI. Class started at about 1000. Weather was very warm, reaching the mid 80s °F, with high humidity, wind, and intermittent cloud cover. It had been raining regularly for the entire week, hence the humidity, along with making the sand on the range damp and clumpy. There were 11 students in the class, 1 active duty member of the military (MP position), 3 LEOs, and the rest were civilians. All of the students had some prior trainig of sorts. There were 2 S&W M&Ps 9mm, an XD (or XDm?), a Wilson Combat 1911, an H&K P30LS, and the rest were Glocks.
We started out in the classroom, with Will giving his background: he started out as a LEO in Albuquerque. He noted that while there were many vehicle classes being taught, most were geared toward a team-based assault, as seen in military, SWAT, or contractor environments, but such techniques were usually not very applicable to the average patrol officer or civilian. As a firearms instructor, he also noted a large amount of training being done is not reflective of reality. After several vehicle involved OISes in which there were LODDs, Will took a hard look at the training that had been taught about vehicle CQB, combined with his exposure when he worked overseas with various foreign units, and his own informal ballistic testing, he created the vehicle CQB training program he now used. Notably, this was only the fifth open enrollment class for this particular subject, though Will had taught this many times for LE-only audiences. Despite coming from an LE background, Will stated that what was being taught in the class was perfectly applicable to any audience, as gunfighting around the car is basically the same whether one is military, LE, or civilian. Still, because there are obviously physical differences between different set-ups, e.g., EDC vs. duty belt vs. war belt, Will encouraged us to run the drills in the kit that we would benefit from the most.
Will then had us consider how much time we spend in or around cars, along with other outside considerations that might force one to end a threat as soon as possible, instead of retreating or prolonging the fight, e.g., we're with family, etc. He then put on a slide show to show us some basic principles. CQB is defined as being short duration, high intensity, and close range. Given the circumstances, most of the video that are accessible to civilians will be LE dash cams. Will then showed us video of a traffic stop, in which multiple rounds were dumped through a window.
He then went over the principles of CQB:
Low Light Vehicle CQB is an accelerated shooting class focused on positional shooting and critical light manipulations in and around vehicles.
Students will push the boundaries of “traditional” cover and concealment utilizing various cars and trucks in a true 3D environment. Drills will incorporate adverse shooting platforms with critical weapon employment while engaging threats in, around, from, over and under vehicles. Lighting principles and threat assessment all play a major factor in this course. Live ballistic demos with a variety of ammunition will be conducted as the class explores ballistic deflection, deformation, penetration and terminal effect in direct correlation to various vehicle mediums.
This was my first course with an emphasis on vehicles. I had small amount of prior knowledge of vehicle ballistics through online reading and informal discussions with well-versed acquaintances; I have also taken multiple pistol courses from various well-regarded instructors, including several low-light courses, some edged weapons work, some combatives, and one carbine course.
I used an H&K P30LS with the Grayguns Reduced Reset Carry Perfection Package carried in condition 1, with an X400 Ultra - Green laser mounted with the DG-11 and zeroed for 25 yards. Sights were a Trijicon RMR RM06 mounted by L&M Precision, with a Dawson Precision suppressor height front sight and Ameriglo suppressor height rear sight mounted behind the RMR. Lube was FIREClean, magazines were modified with Taylor Freelance Border Special +5 magazine extentions with the included Wolff springs (these were the first generation product that I loaded only up to +4), carried using Kytex Shooting Gear open top magazine carriers. My handheld was the Surefire E1B, slightly modified with a zip tie and two Scünci No Damage elastic hair bands to form a jury rigged lanyard. For the TD1, besides the usage of an addition of a second magazine carrier, removal of the phone from my belt, and replacement of my low-cut sneakers for Salomon trail runners, my set-up was identical to my EDC: appendix carry with a slightly modified RCS Phantom at the 0100 position, t-shirt with relatively form-fitting jeans, The Wilderness Ti Instructor belt, SFB, folders, etc. PPE used were Oakley M-Frames 3.0, MSA Sordin Supreme Pro-X with gel earpads and OC Tactical headband, and Arc'teryx Knee Caps. Round count of the P30LS was 14532 at the start of the class.
William Petty was the primary instructor, with Matthew Shockey as the AI. Class started at about 1000. Weather was very warm, reaching the mid 80s °F, with high humidity, wind, and intermittent cloud cover. It had been raining regularly for the entire week, hence the humidity, along with making the sand on the range damp and clumpy. There were 11 students in the class, 1 active duty member of the military (MP position), 3 LEOs, and the rest were civilians. All of the students had some prior trainig of sorts. There were 2 S&W M&Ps 9mm, an XD (or XDm?), a Wilson Combat 1911, an H&K P30LS, and the rest were Glocks.
We started out in the classroom, with Will giving his background: he started out as a LEO in Albuquerque. He noted that while there were many vehicle classes being taught, most were geared toward a team-based assault, as seen in military, SWAT, or contractor environments, but such techniques were usually not very applicable to the average patrol officer or civilian. As a firearms instructor, he also noted a large amount of training being done is not reflective of reality. After several vehicle involved OISes in which there were LODDs, Will took a hard look at the training that had been taught about vehicle CQB, combined with his exposure when he worked overseas with various foreign units, and his own informal ballistic testing, he created the vehicle CQB training program he now used. Notably, this was only the fifth open enrollment class for this particular subject, though Will had taught this many times for LE-only audiences. Despite coming from an LE background, Will stated that what was being taught in the class was perfectly applicable to any audience, as gunfighting around the car is basically the same whether one is military, LE, or civilian. Still, because there are obviously physical differences between different set-ups, e.g., EDC vs. duty belt vs. war belt, Will encouraged us to run the drills in the kit that we would benefit from the most.
Will then had us consider how much time we spend in or around cars, along with other outside considerations that might force one to end a threat as soon as possible, instead of retreating or prolonging the fight, e.g., we're with family, etc. He then put on a slide show to show us some basic principles. CQB is defined as being short duration, high intensity, and close range. Given the circumstances, most of the video that are accessible to civilians will be LE dash cams. Will then showed us video of a traffic stop, in which multiple rounds were dumped through a window.
He then went over the principles of CQB:
- It is still, and always, about the gun, not the vehicle. It doesn't matter how good your vehicle tactics are because it's the gun that solves the problem.
- Shooting around, above, or under is always better than through vehicle parts. Shooting through barriers invariably lead to deflection, which alters trajectories and ballistics, and can also degrade bullet performance due to deformation of the round. Given the choice, one wants the least amount of outside influences between the target and one's round once it has left the barrel.
- Offset properly to better utilize lighting. One wants to maximize the amount of light being sent downrange, rather than having it wasted on splashing back on one's self.
- Get in and out of positions with a quickness. A classic issues of action vs. reaction; it is always better to force the opponent to react to you rather than the other way around.
- Rounds skip, but don't let that hinder you. Gunfighting is inherently dangerous, so do not become paralyzed when rounds start skipping, as one must act to prevail.
- Make your drills realistic. If one is a civilian, running handgun drills with a plate carrier is not very reflective of real life. A patrolman doesn't roll up to traffic stops with a carbine tucked between their legs, so they should be made to fight toward one if one is needed in a drill.
- Vehicles can be used as an excellent weapon, should the opportunity allow.
- Keep is simple. Taking off a seat belt is taking off a seat belt, it's something everyone does every day, and usually has zero issues. Same thing goes for opening doors, etc. There is no reason to overcomplicate things.
- Vehicle anatomy plays a vital role.
- Learn to fight in the position you find yourself in, rather than the position you like to be in. Most anyone can make decent hits when standing on the square range.
- High ground wins fights. Being in an elevated position gives one a position of dominance. Note that high ground can mean many things, such as someone standing vs. someone prone, someone in a lifted truck vs. someone in a compact sedan, etc.