Southnarc Vehicle Combat and Shooting Tactics AAR

[GNCAaron]

Craig Douglas, aka Southnarc, is a retired police officer with a background of undercover narcotics work in a large city in the southern US. He recently traveled up to MN to teach his vehicle combat and shooting tactics (VCAST) course, and like his extreme close quarters concepts (ECQC) course, it was fantastic. It was difficult, and challenging, but those are the courses we remember the longest.

Here's a link to some AARs on this website for Craig's ECQC course. viewtopic.php?f=54&t=33884

VCAST is focused around fighting within and around a vehicle. Throughout the weekend, Craig taught us how to get out of the vehicle quickly, how to wrestle with someone inside the vehicle, and we even shot up a car to see what happens with our carry ammo. Like ECQC, I'd recommend VCAST to anyone who carries a gun.

Day 1 is a short day. We only meet for a few hours, and we go over how to get out of the vehicle in a hurry. Craig has us debus from each side of the car, and has us practice crawling over the center console and getting out the opposite side we were on, incase that was the only option. Some of the cops with their duty belts found it extremely tough climbing over their computers and rifles in their squads.

Day 2 was a long day. We went a full 12 hours. We started in the vehicles, and Craig taught us how to safely draw and fire (dry fire) from within the vehicle to a threat outside the vehicle. We went over every possible combination of target location, relative to where we were sitting in the car. Once we were comfortable with that, we drove out to the range and did it live fire. For the actual shooting portions of the class, we used police vehicles and junker cars, so we wouldn't accidentally damage our personal cars. Nobody had any accidents, but it never hurts to have that little precaution.

Depending on where the target is, we would un-belt, draw our pistol, open the car door, and then move and pivot however necessary to shoot the target. This went on for most of the day, and almost all firing sequences only called for one shot, so we got a lot of practice drawing our pistols from within the car. Also, I'll note that the class had a relatively low round count, which was a welcome relief for those of us who are still trying to find ammo.

Later in day 2, we practiced exiting the vehicle from both sides, from both seats, and once out, we would use the car as cover and shoot four separate targets while trying to stay as low as possible. Everyone got quite a few turns doing this, and it was one of the more fun drills we did.

Day 2 culminated with an evolution. An evolution is Craig's word for test, and his tests are difficult. Each evo had four students. One was the "victim", another was the victim's wife/husband/child/etc, who could not fight but could take directions, and the other two students were the aggressors. The scenario would start with the victim accidentally rear ending the aggressors vehicle, and the evo would go on from there however the aggressors felt like. Some evos ended peacefully, but most ended with violence, and Craig was looking for the victim to be decisive, aggressive if necessary, and to protect their passenger.

Day 3 started with Craig teaching us how to fight with another person from within a vehicle. I doubt I can fully explain all he taught us in a paragraph here, but suffice to say, Craig's been doing this along time, and he taught us as much as he could in the short time we had. After showing us some moves and techniques, we paired off and practiced with each other in the police cars and junkers. Fighting with someone inside a vehicle is extremely exhausting, but initiative and aggression often decide who will win. We finished this block of instruction with another evolution, then headed out to the range.

Day 3 ended at the range, and we were able to shoot a junker car with our carry ammo to see what happens. We shot from inside the vehicle, through the windshield and side glass, as well as from outside the vehicle to see how our ammo penetrates. We even shot the car with an AR. In general, windshield glass is very tough, so the best thing to do is shoot at the target through the same hole each time, if possible. About half of the rounds were able to make their way from one side of the vehicle to another. It didn't even matter if it was pistol or rifle, or ball or JHP. Overall, we learned cars should be treated as concealment, and if we're lucky, they might be cover.

Overall, I had a terrific time at this class. It's a week after, and I still have a few bruises, but I earned them the hard way and I'm better off for it. Craig's classes aren't designed to make us feel good, or stroke our ego. Craig wants us to improve, and I appreciate his no-nonsense approach to training. I'd train with him again, and would recommend his courses to anyone who carries a gun.