Close Range Gunfighting - Chattanooga TN 4/28-29/07

**Scharfschutz** · 05-06-2007, 08:58 AM

On April 28th & 29th I took my first Suarez International Course. I had previously taken some private training with a non-Suarez instructor but this was my first group class.

Before these training experiences I have had a fair amount of IDPA, a lot of accuracy minded long range bolt gun practice (and the associated handloading for it) and over a decade's worth of recreational shooting and hunting with firearms and archery equipment.

The Chattanooga class was small, with only two other students, which probably added to my enjoyment & overall quality of the class. One of the students was a newbie to firearms.

One of the first things that I recognized with the instructor, Randy Harris, was that he did not exhibit a disconnected attitude with his students. I have previously witnessed trainers who made it a point to sort of separate themselves personally from the students. These instructors come across sort of like a drill sargent. Randy did not have this sort of distant behaviour and was very personable. His outgoing personality made the students more relaxed, which probably created a more conductive atmosphere to learning. I think newbies often are nervous in the class environment, and this class's newbie benefitted from the instructor's "real-guy", non-overbearing personality.

Mr Harris is very knowledgable, and covered many things which were not expected from a class with a "Close Range Gunfighting" title. It did not take long to see how he was trying to give us various peices of a puzzle, with the intent of putting it all together so we could see a larger picture of what close range gunfighting may include. Knives, empty hand, avoidence, body language, careful statistical analysis of previous gunfights, etc were all touched on to give the student a very good understanding of all that may be involved in a close range encounter.

I thoroughly enjoyed this class, and it has fed my hunger for continued training.

The class location "Mystery Dog Ranch" was awesome. When I pulled up the driveway Saturday morning there was a gobbler strut'n in the front yard. I was amazed at the amount of wildlife for being in Chattanooga metro. I know this doesn't have anything to do with the class, but the sights and sounds of Father's creation added to my general experience.

The classroom was the basement of a house and was adequate.
The range was a series of cowboy action shooting bays and was also adequate.

Randy has helped me with after-class questions, and information on needed supplies, books, etc for a continued training program.

I am looking forward to future Suarez classes at Mystery Dog Ranch, as well as working with Randy Harris again.

Psalms 37

**Mickey Rourke** · 05-06-2007, 12:08 PM

First, welcome!

Originally Posted by Scharfschutz

One of the first things that I recognized with the instructor, Randy Harris, was that he did not exhibit a disconnected attitude with his students. I have previously witnessed trainers who made it a point to sort of separate themselves personally from the students. These instructors come across sort of like a drill sargent. Randy did not have this sort of distant behaviour and was very personable. His outgoing personality made the students more relaxed, which probably created a more conductive atmosphere to learning. I think newbies often are nervous in the class environment, and this class's newbie benefitted from the instructor's "real-guy", non-overbearing personality.

Based on my limited experience and this forum, these seem to be standard traits for SI instructors

When I pulled up the driveway Saturday morning there was a gobbler strut'n in the front yard. I was amazed at the amount of wildlife for being in Chattanooga metro. I know this doesn't have anything to do with the class, but the sights and sounds of Father's creation added to my general experience

I only live about 40 minutes from Chattanooga. It's a great area. And I look forward to training with Randy one day since he is so close.