CRG with Randy Harris, 23-24 June 2012 (Knoxville)

[StealthNeighbor]

I've been following Gabe Suarez's concepts / philosophies / equipment / innovations / forum for some time now, but hadn't had a chance to participate until this past weekend. After enjoying his "PESTS EAT FAST"article and numerous insightful, humorous and well thought-out responses & contributions to this forum, I finally "put my money where my mouth is" and did the following:

- ordered a TSD Glock 19
- switched to appendix carry (from 4-5 o'clock)
- sought out instruction from Randy Harris
- selected Close-Range Gunfighting as my initial class with Suarez International

and planned my 2012 vacation based on the above parameters...

Well, I hit a home run with the bases loaded!

Let's talk about the instructor first:

Randy is an excellent person and instructor; he is intelligent, engaging, well-prepared and very safety-conscious...but in a very likeable, understandable and effective manner. He took his 8 students - all with diverse backgrounds and varying skill sets and experiences - and made each one a better shooter, more situationally aware, and better equipped to handle themselves in a deadly force encounter. Randy has a remarkable ability to remember all the details and nuances and background about a topic; as such, he can provide a perspective as to why and how an incident (recent or historical) occurred...in addition to the details around what actually happened...and make some memorable, impactful and salient teaching points that a lesser instructor might miss. He is also a thoughtful, considerate and flexible instructor who structured (and re-structured) the course of instruction to the training location, the students' abilities, the weather and the time available to train. Randy Harris is clearly a "force multiplier" as an instructor and as a member of the Suarez International staff. If all the instructors are of the same caliber (pun intentional) as Randy, there's no need to ever train elsewhere.

The course: CRG is not for a first-time shooter or someone unfamiliar or not yet fully comfortable with a pistol. That said, both a relatively new shooter as well as a seasoned professional will find the 2-day class worth the time, effort and expense. The class was peppered with instances where "the light bulb went off" and the practical aspects emphasized and reinforced the discussion/lecture topics. I definitely came away with a better appreciation for "moving off the X" - and will follow up by taking, among other courses, the Force-on-Force class also offered by S.I.

The equipment: although I was only able to put ~300 rounds through it the day prior to class start, the TSD "melonited" tier 1 Glock 19 performed superbly. The only time I missed a shot was due to MY not doing my part as the trigger operator ! Although not critical for close-range gunfighting, per se, the precision and confidence offered by the RM-02 red dot sight and match barrel is remarkable...and, in fact, I'm headed to the range after I press SEND to see what I can do at 50 and 100 meters...

Bottom-line: between your instructor, your course and your equipment, Suarez International has a new convert and a loyal (and now better-skilled) customer !

Bob

[Michael Swisher]

Welcome to the tribe Bob. It is good to have you here. I am very impressed by how as you say "put your money where your mouth is". It is great when people go all in and devote serious effort into something they deem important. Glad to hear you had a good class and learned a lot.

[Randy Harris]

Thanks StealthNeighbor it was a pleasure having someone of your experience in class. And you did very well with the RMRd G19.

I'm hoping some more students will pop in and tell about their thoughts on the class. In the mean time....here's some pics.......


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[Randy Harris]

And some more......

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[Randy Harris]

And a little work from cover....


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[Randy Harris]

And my favorite...putting the CLOSE in Close Range Gunfighting


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[Jcord]

I had a great time in the class and plan to be in the 0-5 class coming up in Louisville. Randy is an excellent instructor. I learned quite a bit. It was good to be able to try out various weapon/holster combinations to determine what works best for me. I tried out a 1911, j frame, Ruger SR-9C and Ruger LC-9. By far, the better gun was the SR-9 which is a glock action copy holding 17 rounds. I would attend more classes if they were closer. To sum it up. I have owned and carried guns since I was 10 years old, spent 20 years in the Army. I was shocked at what I didn't know.

[Randy Harris]

Thanks Jcord. I think having had CRG last weekend you'll get even more out of Zero to Five in a few weeks.

The concepts are all the same (Explode Off the X, Acquire Better Position, Take the Fight to Them) just from a closer distance. Just like we discussed in CRG...the gun is RARELY the best first answer. Moving your feet to get off the X or to get better position is normally answer #1. THEN acquire a tool and use it. Especially when people are less than an arms length from you.