This was about my sixth class hosted by Rob in Iowa. I had been wanting to get on the range with Dave Harrington for a few years now. Both Vicker's and Hackathorn had recommended him to me several times.
This was without question the most different class I've ever taken. It's stress on accuracy and safety were above the board. I wasn't quite sure what to expect with Harrington going into it. But what I got was an instructor that was more than willing to speak to any question I possibly had. Every AAR I've seen posted over the years stresses that he goes a long way to get into your head and develop your input into the class. They're right. If you decide to train under Dave go into it prepared to participate. This isn't a float in the background class. No matter how far back you go, he'll see you there. The man's attention to things going on around him is unbelievable.
He was easily the most accessible instructor I've met. He was literally available to us as close to 24/7 as was possible. In fact he was two doors down from my crew in the hotel. Every time I'd run into him off the clock he made it a point to make contact and see how things were going and what I/we thought.
The drills Rob mentioned were extremely interesting. The V block drill will imprint upon you trigger control and manipulation unlike anything I've seen. The "Golf grip" for prone distance shooting was something I hadn't seen before and I'll certainly be working it's application in the future. And the team/interaction drills did more to burn into my brain muzzle awareness, safety manipulation, and situaltional awareness more than anything or anyone has ever done in a life time of shooting. I can't stress enough that what we did the second day was on a level most shooters will never get to experience. "Switched on" doesn't begin to describe it.
Another thing I see addressed in multiple "Super Dave" AAR's is that you will get hit with such a multitude of information in such a short time that you'll be decompressing from it and breaking it down and analyzing it for weeks, if not months, to come. This is undeniably accurate. Speaking with a friend this week several days later we're both still bringing things out that seem to have been implanted almost sub consciously. I've thought about the class almost non stop in the succeeding days and things I didn't focus on when he presented them (due to still focusing on the last thing he presented) are coming to the forefront.
Notes for anyone taking this class: This isn't an entry level class. It's highly advanced. I'm certain if you were wanting him to teach a starting shooter class he'd be unbelievable in bringing out the novice shooter's full potential. He showed me some finger placement on the Glock trigger that increased leverage and brought down that trigger push I've experienced for years. Going back to Vicker's previous classes and digging out an empty 9mm shell casing to balance on the front sight I applied Dave's finger placement lecture in practice and the shell casing seemed to begin to stay on the front sight almost effortlessly under dry fire. And that was doing the exercise dry firing one handed both strong hand and weak hand.
Magazines. Bring a lot. I carried seven G17 mags at all times and ran through all of them repeatedly. AR mags I'd recommend at least a string of four (One in the gun). We ran them dry again and again through multiple drills. Be prepared to focus on strong hand and weak hand shooting. Be prepared to participate. If you want to agitate the instructor "do nothing". That's not what he wants. He wants you asking questions and offering answers. Your attitude, attention, and participation will go a long way in the class.
Rain gear. Bring rain gear. If it starts raining all he's going to do is praise the war gods for allowing you to focus your training in the inclement weather to prove to yourself you can succeed in it. And he was right. The Sunday rain vetted every piece of equipment I took from guns to Surefire lights to Aimpoint optics. There's no question about it's performance in a down pour now in my mind.
Know your rifle's zero. Have it set before class. He'll obviously assist you if you need it but still. I believe he advocated a 50 yard carbine zero generally. But for this class he ran a 100 yd zero on an ACOG with BDC. I've ran the 100 yard zero for a few years now but I'm going to try the 50. He piqued my curiosity with some things around it.
Don't be afraid to approach the man with legitimate questions. He'll take the time to answer you.
There's probably a dozen other things I want to write about regarding this class, but to be honest I haven't thought of them yet. And by that I mean I'm still analyzing and breaking down things. He is without question the single best and most intrinsically accurate shooter I've been on the range with. His groups during the V block drill and weak hand drills alone were beyond impressive.
Be prepared to manipulate and use your AR's safety. Muzzle discipline is gigged on and hammered religiously throughout. If you're the guy that watched Blackhawk down and took away from it that your trigger finger is your only safety then that needs to be mentally addressed and physically changed.
Regarding the Host of the class, R. E. Schoening, I have taken classes from Iowa to Oklahoma and there simply is no better or more attention detailed host out there than Rob. Anyone considering taking a class as a veteran attendee of these types of things or as a first timer seeing what training is all about Rob is the guy to reach out to.
I took so much away from this class that I didn't even realize I was at the time it's hard for me to believe. This is probably the most cliche thing I've ever written online but I'm a better shooter and I'm a better overall person having met Dave Harrington and spent time with him. He changed my thought process. Would I take another Super Dave class? Yes I would.
"Everythings important, everything matters"---Dave Harrington.
Sig Sauer LE Armorer
Glock LE Armorer
Colt AR15/M16 Armorer
T.O.S.S. (Tactical Officer Survival School) inst. Tom Long
Vicker's Tactical Pistol 1 & 2 Carbine 1 Advanced carbine Inst. Larry Vickers
Intermediate pistol Inst. Ken Hackathorn
Combat Speed Inst. Dave Harrington
Performance Pistol Inst. Frank Proctor
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