Vehicle CQB with William Petty inbound

You may recall back in June several of us attended a rigorous VCQB course (Vehicle Close Quarters Battle) instructed by Mr. Will Petty on one of the ranges at the 88 Tactical training facility. Firelance Media was on scene during that class to film a somewhat different sort of video, which made what was already an extremely challenging class that much more stressful (no one wants to be caught on video looking like a window-licker, least of all people who handle guns for a living). As it turns out, that additional stressor was actually a Good Thing, although at least one member of the film crew was a beady-eyed virago who hectored us unmercifully (happy birthday Nora!).

The difference with this particular video compared to others is in the way it delivers its content. It's almost, no it is, more of a documentary than your typical straightforward delivery of lessons, advice and TTPs, and it's thorough. The rough cut I was privileged to review last weekend was a whopping 3 hours long (it will be divided into chapters of course) and includes not just Petty's instruction but also interaction with the students, students interacting with each other and much of the offline shenanigans that went on. Honestly it flows more like something you'd see on Frontline than something you'd buy from some place like Op Parts or Weapon Outfitters. At first I was dubious about the plan and worried it might unnecessarily detract from the ‘important stuff.' Then I realize it was all important stuff.

The totality of the delivery is what I think will make this video appealing, though there's no doubt Willliam (it's an inside joke) is an effective instructor in his own right. My only real complaints initially are that sometimes it's difficult to make out what some of the students are saying. This was a range limitation and could not be helped, but they'll likely fix that in post-production anyway. I'm also not wild about the fat filter they apparently put on the camera. I look like a paunchy, balding, middle-aged white guy.

Oh…wait….

Anyway, here is a way you can begin to banish range lore. Here you can look at some of our world's conventional wisdom and realize, that's not right. This is where you can watch some things happen the next best way to pulling the trigger yourself — on video, carefully explained after each iteration. Don't believe you can fail to hit punch holes in a target with a 12 ga. slug or a .308 fired up the longitudinal axis of a vehicle from right behind the vehicle? You watch. If you, like me, grew up KNOWING the only cover on a vehicle is the engine block or the tires and axles, this is gonna blow your mind.

And who knew what a significant advantage being at the rear of a car could be in a gunfight against some asshole standing at the front?

As with Katsumoto, I enjoyed my conversations with Willliam.

Willllliam Petty demonstrated the use of a vehicle windshield as cover. Don't think it is? Watch the video.

Take a look.

Now, the concept of a training video is nothing new and 88 Tactical (the sponsor) isn't touting this one to be. As they and most RECOIL readers know, there are a number of great videos out there. While none of them will completely replace time on the range, anyone who tells you they aren't worth watching is probably the same intractable dumbass who says, “I use a .45 ‘cuz they don't make a .46” or who refused to use optics because, batteries. Kyle Lamb has DVDs, Frank Proctor has DVDs, Panteao has a whole slew of DVDs, hell the careers of Chris Costa and Travis Haley were all but launched with DVDs. Don't want to watch a DVD, rather stream it? Trigger Time has well over a hundred short clips you can learn from and there are a slew of other folks providing good content, as anyone who has watched Aaron Cowan's Sage Dynamics videos or Murr's appearances on Captain Berz can attest. I don't think this video will (or even should) replace many of those, but I honestly think people will find the $50-or-so price tag to be well worth the investment. The final version is due to be released in a few weeks on Vimeo. We'll advise further when that happens.

You can visit 88 Tactical online or follow them on Instagram (@88tactical) and Facebook for further updates. You can also subscribe to their channel on YouTube.

That is all for now. Go forth and conquer.

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