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Come join Larry Vickers, Lead Firearms Instructor of Vickers Tactical at the Gainesville Target Range. He will be conducting the Vickers 1911 Operator Class: Only 20 slots for this course! This course is open to Law Enforecment, Military, and Civilian shooters interesting in improving your skills with the Legandary 1911 Pistol. Don’t miss this one!!
1911 operator – 2 days / $525 1 day of range drills using a 1911 pistol; drills are specifically designed and tailored to highlight key features of using a 1911 pistol. The 1st day begins with detail disassembly and assembly along with an operator level troubleshooting class to allow the end user to recognize problems that may develop – I generally do some on the spot gunsmithing on students guns that is included – the day wraps up with some range fire to highlight test fire procedures. This class has been very positively received Max class size is 20.
Weapon & Gear Class Requirements:
- Serviceable 1911 handgun of at least 9mm Para caliber
- Serviceable holster
- Minimum 1 double magazine pouch (Ability to carry two spare mags – at a minimum) on body.
- Minimum of 3 serviceable magazines (5-8 is better)
- 400 rounds of ammo
- Weapon cleaning & lubrication supplies
- Electronic hearing protection
- Eye Protection
- Suitable range wear depending on the season
- Weapon cleaning & lubrication supplies
- Good attitude
Military Background 
I have been very fortunate to have had the distinction of serving my country with some of the most elite military units to ever exist. This experience has literally made me who I am today and has had an immeasurable impact of every facet of my personal and professional life. I spent over 20 years in the US Army with my entire career in Special Operations. The last 15 years in 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment – Delta, commonly referred to as Delta Force. Prior to that my time in the Army was in Special Forces, including 5th, 1st, 11th (reserve) and 10th Special Forces Groups. I retired as a Master Sergeant.
The high point in my military career was when I was one of 23 members of Delta Force who rescued CIA operative Kurt Muse from Modelo Prison in Panama City, Panama. This mission initiated ‘Operation Just Cause’ and is the first successful hostage rescue operation in modern US military history. This operation has been cloaked in secrecy for nearly two decades. So much so that few inside the US military or even the Spec Ops community even knew about the mission. The veil of secrecy has been lifted with Kurt Muse releasing a book about the rescue mission and his ordeal in Modelo Prison. The title of the book is ‘Six Minutes to Freedom’ from Citadel publishers. It is co-written by John Gilstrap. Be advised to protect individuals still in US Government service many of the names in the book have been changed. I did many things I am very proud of in service of my country but without doubt I am most proud of my participation in ‘Acid Gambit’, the code name for the Modelo Prison rescue operation.
In addition to Panama, I saw service in Desert Storm, Somalia, Bosnia and other places on operations and activities that remain classified. In addition to my time as an assaulter in Delta Force, I spent time in weapons research & development where I initiated several products in use in Spec Ops today (see my products development page) and served as a combat marksmanship instructor training new operational members of Delta. In fact I have trained more Delta and Tier One operators in combat marksmanship skills in the past than anyone in US Special Operations history. This is an accomplishment I am particularly proud of as Delta has earned a reputation second to none in the military shooting arena. I am proud to have contributed to that reputation in a positive way.
Some of my military schools and awards are as follows:
- Operator Training Course
- Special Forces Qualification Course
- Special Forces Military Freefall Course
- Special Operations Target Interdiction Course (SF Sniper School)
- Airborne School
- Infantry Advanced Individual Training
- Jumpmaster School
- Military Freefall Jumpmaster School
and numerous other military schools and courses.
Awards and badges include:
- Bronze Star with ‘V’ device for actions in Panama
- Joint Service Commendation medal with ‘V’ device for actions during Desert Storm
- Defense Meritorious Service Medal
- Meritorious Service Medal
- Combat Infantrymans badge
- Military Freefall Badge
- Special Forces Tab
in addition to other awards and badges.
I have been put in a unique position to be able to pass on some of the lessons learned in an environment with superb resources, excellent facilities, and absolutely first class personnel.
Much of the equipment and techniques used in today’s military environment owes it’s lineage to the organization I worked with for the better part of two decades. I am proud to be a part of that lineage and stand ready, where operational classification does not apply, to pass on lessons learned in blood, sweat, and tears by individuals like myself.
When I decided to pursue 1911 pistolsmithing as a hobby I was fortunate that my good friends Ken Hackathorn and John Miller took me under their wings and showed me what made a 1911 tick. In addition, Steve Nastoff gave me input and Dick Heinie really stepped up and helped me out, eventually sponsoring my membership into the American Pistolsmiths Guild. Once again let me publicly thank these individuals for their help.
I was also fortunate to be in a Unit where more .45 ACP ammo is shot out of 1911 style pistols than any other place in the world; the ultimate test bed. I learned alot in the 15 years I was at 1st SFOD-Delta about what it takes to make a 1911 work reliably and how to keep it running. I also want to thank the individuals who work in the arms room at the Unit; they will remain nameless but I learned alot from them on making a 1911 run.
- Member American Pistolsmiths Guild
- Named “Most Sought after 1911 Pistolsmith” by American Handgunner magazine
- Key player in refining the Unit 1911 service pistols and developing better end user training and maintenance techniques
- Key player in influencing several 1911 vendors for better designed components; Vendors I have had input with include but are not limited to Caspian Arms, Springfield Inc., and Wilson Combat.
- I have built pistols for many of the key people in the 1911 business including Bill Wilson, Chip McCormick, Ken Hackathorn, Rob Leatham, and Dick Heinie.
Civilian Shooting
Sometimes it is hard to delineate my military shooting accomplishments from my civilian as most of them occurred while I was on active duty. In some cases they were a by product of my military duties, and in other cases they were because of my competition shooting and pistolsmithing activities on my off time. Because of this I have categorized them into different areas:
Industry certifications and awards:
- FBI certified firearms instructor
- Secret Service certified firearms instructor – high shooter award in my class
- NRA certified firearms instructor
- National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) 2003 Carlos Hathcock award recipient – this award is given for excellence in the end user community for outstanding contributions in small arms training and weapons development. I am proud to be the first special operations community recipient of the award.
Competition arena accomplishments:
I have had the privilege to train with several of the best competition shooters in the US including Rob Leatham, Jerry Barnhart, Mike Voight, and John Shaw. I consider many of them friends and want to publicly thank them for their contributions for helping me become a better shooter. I shot competitively as a hobby for several years. I have many state and regional awards and championships. I will only list some of the highlights:
- Top Ten finisher at USPSA Limited Nationals in 1993 & 1994
- Two time top CDP shooter at IDPA Winter Nationals
- Two time top 5 finisher in my class at IDPA Nationals
- Founding member of International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA)
- IDPA Vickers Count scoring system is named after me -I did not originate it however; I learned it from Rob Leatham (an interesting story in itself)
- Master Class USPSA Limited Shooter
- Master Class IDPA shooter in CDP, ESP, and SSP
