2damnold4this
New member
Yesterday, I took a low light pistol course held by Sparrow Defense. link
There were three instructors and twelve students at the course providing a good student to instructor ratio. When on the firing line, we would shoot in two sections giving a two student to per instructor ratio. The course was held at an outdoor range in Oconee County Ga and ran from 2:00 until 10:30 pm. The rural location was quite dark after the sun had set.
I had no previous training in low light techniques was excited to learn several things. First and most importantly, I wanted to learn proper use of a hand held light when employing a pistol. Second, I wanted to learn how to manipulate the firearm in the dark while holding a light. Third, I wanted to see if my concealed carry load out was suited for low light conditions. Fourth, I wanted to see if the gear I had chosen was adequate for low light conditions.
The course began in daylight with some basic drills to allow the instructors to evaluate the accuracy, gun handling and, most importantly, safety of the students. Safety was emphasised many times throughout the course and I think it was wise to hold the beginning of the course in daylight. After the basic drills, we retired to a covered pavilion for a classroom session while the range was reset.
The session began with a powerpoint presentation of different techniques for using a pistol with a handheld flashlight. These techniques were also demonstrated by Clark Sparrow and the advantages and disadvantages were discussed. Weapon mounted lights were also discussed but the instructors emphasised the need to master hand held lights. This was fine by me as my G26 doesn't have a mounting rail.
After the powerpoint, plastic training handguns were passed out and we were encouraged to try different techniques to see what might work for us. We then returned to the range where we practiced these techniques with our lights and empty firearms around barricades while it was still light. I settled on using the Harries technique for shooting around the right side of cover or in the open and the neck hold technique for shooting around the left side of cover.
Once we had settled on the technique(s) we would use and the instructors were satisfied with our safety and form, we began some live fire around the barricades. With the exception of the POST qualification test which mandated one reload, throughout the course we were encouraged to shoot without changing the magazine in the gun until it was empty in order for us to practice reloads while employing a handheld light. After shooting paper targets, we took turns using the techniques to shoot steel targets while an instructor called different number and color combinations. This was fun for us but also gave the instructors a chance to evaluate our flashlight techniques one on one while it was still light outside.
We then took a brief break before starting a classroom session on how the human eye works in low light conditions and an important lesson on Georgia laws covering the use of force while the course was reset. The importance of target identification was emphasised. When we returned to the firing line, it was dark.
I'll cover the next half of the class in a part II
There were three instructors and twelve students at the course providing a good student to instructor ratio. When on the firing line, we would shoot in two sections giving a two student to per instructor ratio. The course was held at an outdoor range in Oconee County Ga and ran from 2:00 until 10:30 pm. The rural location was quite dark after the sun had set.
I had no previous training in low light techniques was excited to learn several things. First and most importantly, I wanted to learn proper use of a hand held light when employing a pistol. Second, I wanted to learn how to manipulate the firearm in the dark while holding a light. Third, I wanted to see if my concealed carry load out was suited for low light conditions. Fourth, I wanted to see if the gear I had chosen was adequate for low light conditions.
The course began in daylight with some basic drills to allow the instructors to evaluate the accuracy, gun handling and, most importantly, safety of the students. Safety was emphasised many times throughout the course and I think it was wise to hold the beginning of the course in daylight. After the basic drills, we retired to a covered pavilion for a classroom session while the range was reset.
The session began with a powerpoint presentation of different techniques for using a pistol with a handheld flashlight. These techniques were also demonstrated by Clark Sparrow and the advantages and disadvantages were discussed. Weapon mounted lights were also discussed but the instructors emphasised the need to master hand held lights. This was fine by me as my G26 doesn't have a mounting rail.
After the powerpoint, plastic training handguns were passed out and we were encouraged to try different techniques to see what might work for us. We then returned to the range where we practiced these techniques with our lights and empty firearms around barricades while it was still light. I settled on using the Harries technique for shooting around the right side of cover or in the open and the neck hold technique for shooting around the left side of cover.
Once we had settled on the technique(s) we would use and the instructors were satisfied with our safety and form, we began some live fire around the barricades. With the exception of the POST qualification test which mandated one reload, throughout the course we were encouraged to shoot without changing the magazine in the gun until it was empty in order for us to practice reloads while employing a handheld light. After shooting paper targets, we took turns using the techniques to shoot steel targets while an instructor called different number and color combinations. This was fun for us but also gave the instructors a chance to evaluate our flashlight techniques one on one while it was still light outside.
We then took a brief break before starting a classroom session on how the human eye works in low light conditions and an important lesson on Georgia laws covering the use of force while the course was reset. The importance of target identification was emphasised. When we returned to the firing line, it was dark.
I'll cover the next half of the class in a part II