Water Cooler: Ken Hackathorn and the State of the Industry

[RamZar]

Ken Hackthorn's insightful and experienced thoughts on various subjects including training.

Around the Water Cooler: Ken Hackathorn and the State of the Industry

[Army Chief]

Posted previously in another thread, but yours is better/clearer/more focused. That, coupled with the fact that I am always happy to see Mr. Hackathorn taking an opportunity to share, means this one will stay open.

AC

[RamZar]

Getting myself acclimated with M4C. I come and go but I'm going to make an effort to stay.

Ken always imparts solid advise and great instruction.

Perhaps the very best Pistol class I ever had was with Ken in January 2011 (I've taken a lot of quality ones but not all): AAR: Ken Hackathorn 2-Day Advanced Handgun - Jan 15-16, 2011 in Newhall, CA.

He can shoot too. I remember he slightly missed the desired zone once in the class and he deadpans: "Even monkeys fall off trees sometimes”.

Always willing to try new things and always saying that what he teaches is a way.

Served as Larry Vickers’s mentor while Larry was teaching the Delta dudes and together they designed the HK45 & HK45C. I had a pistol class with the two of them during the 1911 Centennial Celebration. These two guys are incredible walking firearms encyclopedias.

Taking the Ken Hackathorn 2-Day Advanced Handgun - Oct 27-28, 2012 - Los Angeles, CA again. You can never have enough of a great thing.

[Rob-ECTT]

Besides offering solid instruction, Ken has a knowledge of the modern firearms industry/culture that reaches back farther than some younger instructors have been alive. He offers a context to his classes that few (probably none!) can match.

I took his 2-day carbine class outside of Pittsburgh last weekend and besides everything else, it was just enjoyable to listen to him answer peoples questions, talk about his past, tell funny stories and comment on the goings on inside the industry.

Any remotely serious member of the "Gun Culture" who has a chance to take one of his classes and doesn't do so is cheating themselves.

[Army Chief]

Not to pile-on, but I obviously agree.

We're blessed to have more quality folks on the professional instruction circuit than we've ever had in the past, and these guys are certainly deserving of our gratitude, patronage and respect. Admiration, on the other hand, is a term that I personally do not toss around easily, and if I had to pick one shooter out there who truly rates that kind of consideration from me, it would undoubtedly be Mr. Hackathorn.

Ken is devoid of pretense, quick to encourage, happy to explain, patient as a coach, and just an all-around class act as a person. I've not spent nearly the time with him that I might otherwise like to, but we would do well to keep in mind that we're really talking about a master shooter with Jeff Cooper-level standing in our community. Indeed, in weighing Ken's lifetime of contributions, my sense is that the student has long-since quietly eclipsed his late master in many ways.

As Rob has indicated above (and welcome to M4C, by the way), the level of expertise and experience that flows out of Ken in a 10-minute break on the line offers a wealth of knowledge that no syllabus could ever hope to capture. He's rife with competent answers to questions that haven't yet even occured to most of us. It is also all-too-easy to watch him drill the center out of a target and remain completely unmindful of the fact that Ken is still performing at this level despite the rather significant (age-related) annoyances of presbyopia and arthritis.

Admiration, indeed.

AC

[Vulture38]

Mr. Hackathorn is someone I would like to at least meet one day...preferably at a class.

[Rob-ECTT]

Thanks AC

I agree with everything you said.



Definitely a class act.

[Redhat]

I'm sure he has probably done some articles, but has he published any books or training references?

[Alaskapopo]

Ken Hackthorn's insightful and experienced thoughts on various subjects including training.

Around the Water Cooler: Ken Hackathorn and the State of the Industry

One small thing.
He said with the PPQ that Walther took the P99 and make it a striker fired gun. Well the P99 is also a striker fired gun just with a different trigger.

[RamZar]

One small thing.
He said with the PPQ that Walther took the P99 and make it a striker fired gun. Well the P99 is also a striker fired gun just with a different trigger.

Nobody is perfect and in firearms related matters imperfection is a regular occurence. Heck, this universe that we know of would not exist if it wasn't for imperfections. Like Hack says: "Even monkeys fall off trees sometimes".

I dare say, Ken has more instruction and training innovation downrange than anyone including Jeff Cooper. That's a pretty lofty and well-deserved realm.