The Greenport Tactical Association and The North Canton Police Department hosted “Super” Dave Harrington for a 1 day Fighting Pistol Class. This was the first time Dave tried the one day format and it worked out really well. The class was composed mainly of local LEOs and some very skilled private citizens. The class was basically invitation only and we were able to keep the skill level fairly high. It was made up of guys who wanted to be there and train hard. Other than the shitty weather, it was an awesome class and we more than got our monies worth.
After a late dinner of Italian (carbo load), Coronas and funny war stories we hit the ground running at 0730 the next day. After the usual admin BS we had lead in the air at 0800. All morning was spent doing some familiar drills and some stuff I’d never seen before. Dave is a high intensity instructor and doesn’t miss anything. He explains each drill, why it’s relevant and then demos it usually more than once. We had twenty solid shooters and a target line composed of ten small IDPA steel and IDPA cardboard targets. So we were able to keep things moving in two relays. I won’t go into all the different drills, you just gotta be there. But suffice to say Dave will expand your awareness and skill set. The dude is a phenominal shooter and his way of teaching is very unique. You really gotta pay attention and even then it might take some time to wrap your brain around his points.
After a quick 30 minute lunch that was delivered to the range we got right back at it. All told we put 800 to 1200 rounds down range in a 10 hour period. Some of us shot more, jumpng in when there was openings in the off relay. Basically when the 1911 shooters were down. The round count might sound high but the pace was fast and each round counted, no wasted effort or ammo. It was a perfect but long day as most of us were saturated both physically and mentally and had hit the training wall by 1700.
By far this is the best class I’ve attended in the last several years. I’ve trained with a lot of the “names” and numerous local instructors. Not to take anything away from them as they were all excellent and brought their own covered dish to the buffet. But Dave just has a completely different way of operating that was very refreshing and out of the box. It was nice to break the square range mentality and operate under real world conditions. Dave is a big proponent of the 360 degree range. This might put few folks off but if awareness is maintained, every one is safe.
Dave had a four or five page shooting program but because of the time constraints I think we might have only gotten through 75% of it. all in all it was an excellent day of training. I can’t endorse Dave enough. If you ever get the chance to train with the man, jump at it! I’m looking forward to bringing him back next year.
It is on the strong side. Logic being, if you are only able to use your right hand, it is easier to access a mag on that side rather than reaching around to the “weak” side.
I agree 100%. I was in Dave’s class near Pittsburgh over the weekend and had a hell of a time. Looks like you guys has a little better weather but that still means Dave was rocking out 3 days in a row in the rain.
The guy has the energizer bunny for a battery pack, an off the chart intensity level and runs around like a 15 year old on a Hersey bar / Jolt cola sugar rush. I don’t know how he does it. But it was fun trying to keep up with him.
This was my fourth “official” trainning class with SD. I also have trained with many of the others but I always take more of the mental game home with me when with SD than any of the others.
He can teach you how to be more mentally prepared than the others if you let him. You have to have an open mind and really listen to the words he speaks.
No doubt about it, he will leave you with ever lasting images and thoughts.
Go out of your way to add him to the mix if your serious about carrying a gun and want to know how to use it if needed to defend yourself.
It was very enjoyable to train with a true pro. His demanding attitude in keeping in the fight no matter what is lost to often these days. Also a couple of the drills were good to push yourself on. I don’t get to outside TDI and train often enough so it was good to be in a class with a great group of shooters and be pushed and run the gun hard. I shot right at 1,300 rounds and even hit with one or two of them. The other refreshing thing about Dave is he still has an open mind to ideas and equiptment. All to many close up after many years in the arena, not so with Dave.
Another great class at GTA. This class flowed at a nice pace, SD had an energy level the shooters required. We were a bit sluggish in the am shakin’ the cobwebs out… once on the range we woke up a bit and our skills were tested. This group was very strong, no slackers, thank god.
I hope to shoot with this group again, soon.
Thanks to SD, and Scott for making this happen and thanks to guys to the left and right of me for a smooth, safe and superfanfuckingtastic day.
