Near the end of April, I was invited to attend a Safariland event in central Florida. I was psyched. Not only was I invited to go to a series of free classes, but it was within driving distance. I excitedly said yes. As the time drew in, a dozen or so firearms writers found our way down to Deland, Florida. We trained with Rich Graham, owner and operator of Full Spectrum Warriors, a firearms training company. Rich and his family welcomed us to his facility and set us up for two days chock-full of training.
Without a doubt, the highlight of the class was the vehicle tactics portion. It ate up most of the second day, and everyone was undoubtedly psyched for this portion of class. I honestly didn’t know how much I didn’t know about fighting in and around vehicles. My only experience is in the military, where a heavy machine gun did most of the talking for me. As a civilian with a handgun and a spouse and kids, the considerations change considerably.
This article doesn’t intend to teach you those same tactics but to provide a review of Rich Graham’s class and maybe illuminate some things about working around vehicles that might convince you to take a defensive vehicle class.
Vehicle Tactics Class: Why take one?
Why take a class wrapped around shooting in and around vehicles? For most Americans, a car is a daily part of their life. You might drive to work anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. Beyond that, driving in any metropolitan area basically means surviving in a crowd of people driving thousand-pound missiles. You’re in a car a lot, and optimistically, you should be able to drive away from danger.
That’s not always the case. The world can be restricted, and bad situations can evolve rapidly. Learning how to use your firearm inside and around your vehicle can be an invaluable skill. In the United States, there are over 35,000 carjackings a year. If you find yourself in this situation, you’ll be glad you know what you’re doing.
Working in and around vehicles is tough. I don’t know any gun range that will let you park your car at the range and start popping rounds off. If you live in a rural area, an airsoft gun can help, but going live around your actual car without professional instruction doesn’t seem like something your insurance will cover.
Getting into a class based on vehicle use and tactics seems like common sense, right up there with medical training, basic defensive shooting, and hands-on combatives.
Hitting the Course
It’s worth mentioning that the day before, we worked a lot on situation awareness, using cover, and engaging in various positions prior to day two. Most of that training came into play when it came to the vehicle training. Obviously, lots of the training was new and different, but it all came back to the basics we learned on day one. We started with the basics of a safety brief, a medical plan, evacuation, and an identification of our on-staff medic.
The crew at his range were all experienced shooters, so we had a level of competency in safety that allowed us to flow through the training quickly. Things like reloads and the number of shots fired on a specific target were always on the shooter. If you ran dry, you reloaded it as necessary.
One of the things I loved about the training was the element of big-boy rules. Safety was always paramount, but Rich Graham was not a fan of the gamer type. Instead, we were encouraged to find a way to orient the weapon in a safe way that wasn’t playing the game. If you run into a situation where you can’t figure out a safe way to orient the weapon, then do what’s necessary to remain safe, but try to think your way through the problem.
The range was in the middle of nowhere and set up with a multitude of vehicles as cover, as well as vehicles we’d operate in and out of and actually drive during the course.
Baby Steps With Guns and Cars
Everything was done with baby steps. We worked first on drawing and using your gun from your holster while inside the vehicle and slowly escalated the shooting and skill-building into tougher and tougher scenarios. There was so much I never considered about fighting inside a vehicle. A big portion of the work was being aware of your gun inside and around the vehicle. We always had a fellow shooter in the vehicle, so it was realistic to have a spouse, friend, kid, etc.
I never really considered the issues those aspects create. Another big thing I never considered was how to escape a vehicle with a weapon drawn while orienting it in a safe direction and remaining ready to engage any and all potential threats. Oh yeah, and pinning the door open to make sure you get out. There is a lot, even in that one activity, that I had never considered.
That became basically the whole class for me. I learned a lot and got to apply a lot I already knew in situations where it made sense. Every exercise built on the last lesson and set us up for the next lesson.
We got lots and lots of live fire practice, including a course where all the skills we learned were tested. We also got to drive fast and shoot faster. Overall, it was both educational and fun.
On Learning
Rich Graham does a fantastic job of explaining and illustrating concepts. He can break things down, explain, and then demonstrate without problem. He seems great at adapting to skill levels and will jump on board to answer questions and make corrections.
The facility is awesome, and the training provided by the crew is top-notch. A big part of the philosophy seems to be focused on intelligent shooting, always focusing on what you’re doing and what you’ll do next. Rich is the main instructor, but he has a crew that also supports the training and will quickly point out things you could do better and explain why.
For example, we had to engage three targets around vehicles. I engaged them right to left, and in engaging the third, the instructor pointed out that I exposed myself to the first. To me, he was dead, but the instructor asked, what if he wasn’t? A threat is a threat until you’re sure it’s not. In shooting targets, it’s easy to discount a shot target.
A flat range is a flat range, but the instructors do their best to keep it live. Ultimately, the crew at Full Spectrum Warriors runs an excellent operation. The staff is knowledgeable and well-trained, and they seem excited to get in there and teach and instruct. I can’t suggest them enough if you’re looking for a training weekend unlike any other.
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