Training Report: Phalanx Training Group Low Light Pistol

I recently had the opportunity to attend a Low Light Pistol class taught by the Phalanx Training Group in North Texas. Going into this I had hunted coyotes at night and shot some outlaw pistol matches in dark environments- but have zero LE experience nor do I have a MIL background. I had never done true target ID (PID) or shot much with a flashlight in my hand.

The class was open to red dot sights (RDS) and weapon mounted lights (WML), but being stubborn in my forties and a beginner at low light with a pistol, I took two handguns with iron sights only and neither had a rail to take a WML.

Fudd Mode Engage.

Most everyone else had both WML and Dots, with a few rocking irons only, but I was the only one without a WML. A sizable portion of the class were LE, including the Sherriff’s deputy that covers my area, which was nice.

Gear Selection

I kept this class simple and took the following:

• Wilson Combat EDC X9 (Rain was in the forecast and I wanted to see if this would run in adverse conditions. It was last cleaned one thousand rounds prior. (If Bill Wilson ever sees this, sorry – not sorry.)
• Wilson Combat Ultralight Compact Carry 1911 in 9mm. This is my current EDC. It has a gold bead front sight which would be an issue as I’ll get to later. 
• Milt Sparks 1AT-RT OWB leather holster. This fit both guns and frankly I believe a fine 1911 belongs in a fine leather holster. I have a large assortment of Kydex for my other pistols, but only leather for my Wilson’s. (Ok, boomer…)
• T-Rex Arms Mag Pouch for a double stack. I lucked out and it held the single stack 1911 mags fine.
• Ammo was Norma 124 grain FMJ, and I took three hundred rounds.
• For a cover garment I took a simple khaki button-up short sleeve shirt.
• For the light I used a Streamlight Protac 1L loaded with fresh CR123’s. 

The Location

We shot at Quail Creek Range in North Texas, on the LEO range. This is an outdoor range and the night of the shoot we were under a thunderstorm warning with full cloud cover. Additionally, halfway through it started to sprinkle. It was nothing major and I took a two-day class with Ben Stoeger in much worse weather. But this was enough to make your glasses fog, get your hands wet so the grip was compromised and made what little grass there was, slick. 

Course Intro

We had the normal introductions and safety meetings. I had spoken with the instructor previously as we have a mutual friend and the instructor wants to get into USPSA, which I used to be big into. After the initial welcomes and safety briefing, we went into low light theory.

I honestly didn’t think I would learn anything this early in the class, and I was wrong! A visual demonstration was made about using the FBI light technique around cover and one can easily splash light back onto you and not even know it. Yes, it was obvious. No, I had never thought about it. 

First Drills

This first set of drills were simple. We had ICE QT targets set up at five yards with mags loaded to fifteen rounds. Everyone had to run this drill using their handheld light and we started the FBI Method for five rounds and then performed a slide lock reload while holding the flashlight, which was a new one for me. The next set was Temple Index, again shooting five rounds then performing a reload. To finish we went with the Harries technique.

I will not get into how these positions are used because there are plenty of YT videos that can elaborate if you search up the names.

I shot well with the FBI and Temple Index. All shots would have been A-zone hits on an USPDA Metric target, with most in a softball sized group. But then we switched to Harries. Before this class I was familiar with Harries but had never tried it and in short it became a shit show. My weak hand was influencing my strong hand to the point I couldn’t track the gun in recoil. My nice little group opened, and half the shots were in the left side of the target. For the rest of the class, I ran Harries when instructed, but by the end of the first drill I knew FBI was my go-to.

After this we did some different drills using the same targets but learning to move after slide lock and reloading while holding the flashlight. 

PID Drill

Next, we started with a simple PID drill. For this drill, the targets were photos of real people in various poses, some with items in their hands. Sometimes it was a gun, sometimes a cell phone, etc. We started by facing away from the target, and on command we’d turn and PID with the light and then engage as required. No issues here. Seven yards, decent groups, still using the EDC X9. 

PID Drill with Cover

This drill added cover and the targets were changed. Shooting and working around cover and barricades is something I was familiar with from previous defensive classes and USPSA, but I had never done so at night, so the new stressors were use of the light and PID. 

On the first group I got so wrapped up with proper light use and getting good shots that I totally forgot about PID and just illuminated the target and filled the upper thoracic cavity with lead. It was great shooting…too bad I had greased a woman with a cell phone, a guy with a cell phone, and a woman with sunglasses.

One of the officers stated such a shoot would become a case study. It was a hard AND embarrassing lesson to learn! 

WML Light Drills

Midway through the class the instruction shifted to the use of weapon mounted lights, which applied to everyone but me. Without a WML I ran the drills using the handheld which really helped me sort some things out. When we got the next iteration of the PID Drill I slowed down enough to check hands and waist in a conscientious manner. I correctly Identified the good guys and bad guys, and no innocents shot this time, at least by me. 

But the second PID iteration brought my first issue to bear. In foggy and misty air, with little ambient light, the Protac 1L just didn’t have the candela to cut through the photonic barriers present. In a word, it sucked. The first target I had to PID was a man with a black shirt and something in his hands. It looked like a Glock, but at fifteen yards in that hazy environment I couldn’t be 100% sure. I was maybe 90% sure when I pulled the trigger, but in real life… I wouldn’t be so confident. I’ll cover more of this below in the takeaways. 

When It All Falls Apart. 

“For the next drill load up two mags with 8 rounds each,” the instructor called.

Up to this point I had only shot the EDC X9 because all the drills were ten or more rounds. Now was my time to run the Wilson ULCC 1911 – my carry gun. I loaded up the mags, got on the line, and instantly regretted it. The drill was 15-yard head shots. Use of the WML was allowed, except of course I didn’t have one. For me, this drill became 15-yard head shots using strong hand only. To make things worse there were some underlining issues:

Issue 1: The ULCC has always shot a bit low for me, impacting roughly 2” low at 7-yards. It is good enough for COM hits, but head shots at 15-yards… I had my doubts. Yes, changing the rear sight was something I had “planned” to do for the previous six months, but life happened. Now I was about to pay for my inaction. Better be embarrassed in training than the crucible of a self-defense event.

Issue 2: The ULCC has the gold bead front sight. In fact, it is the only gun I own with the gold bead, and I have never used it at night – period. I was hoping it would “collect light and really focuses it” like I read in gun mags 20 years ago. I had my doubts here too. 

Issue 3: Strong hand only is few people’s strength. With a solid USPSA background I am ok shooting strong hand only. But I don’t remember the last time I shot that way at 15 yards, and never in dark at a head sized target.

The drill was simple. Those with the WML MUST use it and fire eight shots into the head. The we evaluate the target, reload and everyone shoots with a handheld light. The drill was to show the officers how much better their hits were with a WML and both hands on the weapon.

On the first round I brought the gun up and immediately noticed the gold bead collecting light is Fudd Lore! I had a 500 Lumen light over the gun using FBI technique and the gold bead was jet black!  I basically had target sights, but worse because true all black target sights have tight light bars in the sight picture. I had black sights with wide light bars…on a gun I already knew shot low.

The result, a 6-inch grouping in the area where the throat meets the sternum. Total kill shots, but it was a failure for the drill.

Now for the second run.

I decided to try some Kentucky elevation and try to bring my group up to the head box. On the command to shoot I brought the gun up, aimed a bit higher and suddenly the gold bead started reflecting light off my handheld, and it was a distraction. I shot and put all eight to the left of the head, right over the shoulder of the target. This was also embarrassing. I am the USPSA shooter, with a string of Master classifiers and I just zeroed this drill twice. TWICE! By comparison, those with WML’s did ok and the guys with RDS and WML owned that drill. Oh well, it’s not the first time I have tasted my own pride. 

Then the rain started. It wasn’t anything bad, just a sprinkle. We ran two more drills focused on WML’s to build upon what we were taught. And then, the class was over. We had the requisite BS session at the end, some friendly ribbing, photos, and we loaded up. Just before I headed out for the 100 yard walk to my truck, the deluge started, and I got soaked. Oddly enough, I was hoping for a deluge in the class to add complexity. I drove home reviewing these lessons learned.

Lessons Learned

1. The Streamlight Protac 1L was not good enough for the damp and haze night environment. It is fine for looking for my dog in the back yard, and other simple tasks, but when trying to PID a target described above it was inadequate. 
2. I am on year 22 of carrying concealed and I have never carried a WML or even thought twice about it. I have always viewed a WML as mandatory for a home defense gun. But now I am reconsidering it for CCW use. Not because of the light itself, but for the ability to have some light while retaining both hands on the weapon. Yes, it is statistically an outlier, but frankly so is a self-defense shooting.
3. I can shoot both a red dot and irons. Historically I have found a red dot makes an ok shooter good and a good shooter better, but someone that is practiced on irons can achieve the same accuracy as the red dot. However, this class made it clear the real benefit is low light aiming, which is something I haven’t seen many people mention. Will I carry one on my CCW? Probably not, I hate the bulk right where my belt lies, but if I were someone going into harm’s way pursuing bad actors then I would consider it mandatory. 
4. Gold beads sights aren’t fiber optic bright.  I am sure before Fiber Optics they were great, but their time has passed. Carburetors are fine on an old hot rod, but I don’t want one on my daily driver. Same concept applies.  Will I keep mine or change it?  Unknown, I need more night training with it to really decide.  I see some nighttime backyard dry fire in my future.
5. This class also reiterated what how I already felt about tritium night sights. No, I didn’t run anything with tritium’s, but I know they really wouldn’t have made much change beyond what the fiber optic did. A WML or flashlight held and activated in any of the three methods I described above provides ample lumens to make a fiber optic glow. Now I wouldn’t run out and change my tritium sights it a gun came with them; in fact, I have several with tritium sights from the factory and they hit POA/POI, so I left them alone. I just don’t see there being a huge benefit.
6. If you are not going to use a WML for CCW, then you need to carry a GOOD handheld, and you really need to be proficient at strong hand only shooting. 
7. I found new muscles! Not really. But after shooting nearly three hundred round strong hand only, my hand was surprisingly sore the next day.  I don’t think it is a strength thing as much as an endurance issue.  Virtually no one goes to the range and shoots three hundred rounds strong hand only, especially in fast 4-6 shot strings. 
8. If you sights are off, FIX THEM NOW. Had I changed the sights on the ULCC prior to this I might have done better on the one drill I ran with it. Or maybe I wouldn’t have. Either way I went into that drill with zero confidence in the weapon to perform the task. That is foolish. I am glad I did it though, it drove home how stupid it is to procrastinate repairs or changes to your CCW.

Future Goals

I have a two simple goals, but only number one applies to others reading this. 

1. Get a better handheld light. One shooter had a Modlite and one had a Goonbeam. I think the Goonbeam was a bit better, but both were considerably better than my Protac. In fact, after the class I was able to use one on the same black shirt target and the gun in hand was more obvious. Candela matters more than lumens. Chose appropriately. 
2. Fix the sights on the ULCC!! In fact, I have already ordered a Wilson Tactical Adjustable Battlesight.  

In closing, I am glad I took this class and highly recommend this one if you are in North Texas, or a similar one if you are in another part of the country. I learned considerably more than I have listed here, but a lot of it was “ah-ha” moments that are hard to describe, or just internally sorting my own weakness to adjust my training. Overall, it was a fantastic experience. If you are in North Texas, reach out to Phalanx Training Group. He puts on a straightforward class that was efficiently run and safe.