AAR: RGF-2 With Randy Harris, July 15-16 2017 in Chattanooga TN

[Eric Tull]

I helped Randy Harris with this Rifle Gunfighting 2 class in Chattanooga. The class went really well, and we had a great group of students. During the two days, we dealt with rain, heat and humidity, but I never heard any of the students complain. They kept working hard and were always ready to get after it when breaks were over. Also, Randy and I were never concerned about student safety. Even though we practiced some very advanced techniques, such as shooting while moving on the forward and rearward obliques, everyone was aware of their muzzles and trigger fingers.

There were a number of lessons that seemed to hit home for students. The first was the importance of physical fitness. Rifle classes are more physically demanding than pistol classes, simply because the firearm and gear are heavier. Being strong and in shape helps when you have to handle this amount of gear for two days. Another lesson learned was to not have an optic with an extreme height over bore. One student was running a red dot above a magnified optic. IIRC, at five yards he needed to put the dot on the target’s head in order to get hits on the chest. Also, a long two-point sling is a necessary part of the rifle. If you decide to or are required to have your rifle attached to you, make sure the sling is long enough to easily transfer to either shoulder. Or better yet, don’t have the gun slung at all when deploying the rifle.

People seemed to enjoy the vehicle portion of class the most. Getting the seat belt off and exiting the vehicle with a rifle in your hands is harder than it looks and takes practice. It’s not something you can just expect to do without practice when bullets are coming at you. Hopefully, everyone will be practicing this technique dry in their garage.

Randy did a spectacular job teaching. He’s different than your average instructor. He’s not extroverted and loud, but rather a quiet professional who’s an expert at only teaching what matters. There are a lot of non-SI instructors who tend to get caught up in the latest fads and drills. Not Randy. He cuts through the noise and focuses on techniques that work. RGF-2 is a required course if you want to learn not just how to shoot a rifle, but how to fight with one.

[Eric Tull]

Class Picture:
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[PRC 74]

Randy is a great guy and instructor. ARRRG

[Sharkbite]

He cuts through the noise and focuses on techniques that work.

AMEN, Brother, Preach!

This is my 3rd course with Randy, and it was a dandy!

Eric, who himself was a great aid in the learning process for us, summarized things very well. Besides the aforementioned I had some additional take aways:

The strengths and weaknesses of the AR and AK
The partial & full transfer drill
When it's appropriate to reload vs. transition
Contact Ready - Nice!
Obliques truly blow
Sul for the rifle
Optics are annoying in the rain
Temper your decision making paradigm with "..If it doesn't get you shot!"

Mid 90's with rain made day one fairly gnarley, but it was a no whine zone. My fellow students were safety conscious, and could run their guns. We worked "Dry" in the morning of day 1 to get familiar with new and exciting gun handling before going live with it. This approach yielded the desired results. OK, everyone repeat after me:

Is he down?
Does he have Friends?
Are they behind me?
How is my Rifle?
How am I?
Is he still down?

The vehicle dismount drills:
Worth the price of admission by itself. Where else can you train like this?? I mean, Really??

Overall ,it was what I've come to expect from Suarez International Training. No BS, straight forward techniques that have basis in reality from people who have used them.
Well worth the time and money. If you are on the fence about training with Suarez, don't be. Get training!