ST911
05-23-2013, 04:42 PM
AAR
Dave Harrington “Comprehensive Pistol”
Corbon Training Center (www.cletc.us)
May 11-12, 2013
Earlier this month I traveled to the Corbon Training Center in Sturgis, SD to attend a pistol course from “Super Dave” Harrington. Based on the recommendations of credible others, Dave has been on my list of instructors to train with.
I reviewed several AARs and other posts published online prior to the course. There’s quite a bit of information and stories about Dave on the net. The word “intense” is probably the most frequently used descriptor for the man, material, and methods. There were no specific reviews for “Comprehensive Pistol”, and I learned that it was a custom course for Corbon. It would be neither a “basic” nor “advanced” course, nor was it a concealed carry or tactics course. Rather, it was as it was titled: a comprehensive pistol skills course, developing student ability to shoot the gun accurately, run it effectively, and keep it going to address the needs at hand.
My goals for the course were simple, primarily:
identify strengths and weaknesses in my shooting
identify ways to improve it and make my handgun use more effective
experience other instructional methods, identifying tools useful in my skill development and in coaching others
I try to define objectives and outcome measures going into training of any kind. In pre-course research, other students noted that Dave was particularly good at diagnosing shooter issues and coaching through them, while doing so in time and resource efficient way. The word “interesting” and “unique” were often used as well. All looked GTG. With the time, travel, resources, and energy involved, training is about one thing: learning. Smart investment is required.
Pre-course information from Corbon and Dave provided resource requirements and a packing list. Due to market conditions, the course was originally listed as requiring 2000rds, but was reduced to 1500. Other items on the packing list were those typical to quality pistol training courses, but added dummy cartridges, at least five magazines for high capacity guns (10 mags for others), and four magazine pouches. A first aid kit was also listed, along with a concealment garment of some sort, and flashlight for low light sessions. WML were optional.
My gear for the course included my EDC gen4 G19, which had been my dedicated shooter since my 9mm conversion in 12/2012. It had about 4000rds on it prior to the course, and was cleaned and lubed with EWL. For ammo, I took a case of Federal 147gr HST (P9HST2) and another of Speer Lawman 147gr TMJ (53620). This gear and other support items were all verified reliable prior to class.
TD1
The Corbon Training Center (alternately, Corbon Law Enforcement Training Center…CLETC) is a nice facility with a pro-shop, comfortable lounge, and classroom space that is separated from the firing ranges. The CLETC hosts their own programs by CLETC staff and instructors local to them, in addition to outside instructors. This class included Peter Pi Sr, founder of Corbon, who attended TD1. CLETC training director Jeff “Skipper” Wall did double duty as a shooter and host. The balance of the class was five regular folks, one of which was the lone lady shooter.
Student equipment was varied. One brought a Para Ordnance compact LDA, and another brought one each of a compact and full size 1911 (NFI). There was a single gen4 G17. There was one M&P full size, later swapped for another similar M&P. The last, a SAR Arms K2 in 45ACP, which ended up being no end of problems. More on equipment performance later.
Highlights from the morning classroom portion, in no particular order:
Safety- While not specifying the cardinal rules, safety expectations were to maintain muzzle awareness and keep fingers off triggers until we were shooting. Safety should be something that’s simply done, and rigid safety choreography can compromise realistic and efficient training. Dave runs a hot range, allows gun handling on and off the line as needed, and expects students to handle them in a safe matter. Procedures for injuries were discussed, and a BOK was brought out and identified for all.
Principles vs. Fundamentals- Dave’s methods are heavily centered on reinforcement of the principles involved in shooting, general things that must be done to shoot effectively. Fundamentals are how the particular principles are executed, and may vary in method. There was no dogma in methods, and no particular schools of thought were espoused. If there was dogma, it was only to shoot accurately, effectively, keep the gun in play, review results, and make adjustments where needed.
Training is categorized, analyzing- What must you need to know or do to get the gun in action, keep it there, and get it back in action when out? How do you analyze skill and evaluate performance, and how do you progress?
Other key points- You are responsible for yourself. You are either doing what you need to be doing, or not. Focus on what you’ve done properly, not what you’ve done wrong.
A key tenant recurring throughout the weekend: Everything is important, and everything matters.
There is a great deal more to the above, but to elaborate further doesn’t do the material justice. It does serve as the major structure to all learning that would follow however, and the overall instructional approach.
Range Time
Nearly all range exercises emphasized and exercised proficiency with not only two-handed shooting, but in the use of the “primary gun hand” and “alternate gun hand.” Dave asserts that a shooter should be equally capable with whatever hand is holding the gun at the time. Targets used were primarily the excellent VTAC target (http://www.letargets.com/estylez_item.aspx?item=VTAC-P), the FBI IP bullseye, and a reduced torso steel target owned by the training center.
Dave led the class through a series of initial, warm-up, diagnostic assessment exercises on the VTAC bullseye targets. Range exercises thereafter were a progressive walk through integration of holster presentations, imposition of time and stress, alternate target sizes, multiple targets, and distance. There were also a series of walk-back drills. All of the above integrated both two-handed and single-handed shooting. The majority of shooting was done at the 10yd line and beyond, with a hearty chunk at the 25yd specifically. Distance is unforgiving of shooting errors, and emphasizes the need for simultaneous, solid execution of the fundamentals.
Of note during live fire:
Again, there was no specific dogma or shooting doctrine specified. Specific methods of draw to the target, grip, stance, etc were left to the student, with performance on target being the measure of effectiveness. Dave did offer corrections, suggestions, and guidance where required.
Set a time standard to work toward. Per Dave, a good goal would be to add a decimal point to the distance you’re shooting at for a hit on target… 10yds=1.0 second, 15=1.5sec, 25yds=2.5 sec. While these standards are optimistic for many, it is achievable with work. Without goals and standards progress cannot be measured.
The most important portion of the handgun sights are the top right angles on the front post and in the rear notch. The eye has a natural tendency to center objects within spaces, leaving the majority of sighting errors to be errors in elevation alignments. Focusing on the top angles of the front and rear is comparatively more rapid and less busy than alignment of the full vertical surface of the front within the full surface of the rear notch.
Shooting stopped at 1700. By popular vote, an optional night fire session resumed later at dusk. During the night fire session, Dave reviewed various methods to employ the handgun effectively in dim light and darkness, including muzzle flash demos, flashlight techniques (neck index, Rogers, Harries) as well as muzzle flash illumination and sight indexing. A series of drills were fired integrating the various methods on steel targets, mostly at 25yds.
TD2
Sunday shooting begins at 1100 due to nearby neighbors and a church. Class gathered at 0800 anyway, and used the time to cover Dave’s dry fire regimen and an assortment of drills.
This period of time alone was worth its weight in gold. Dave walked the class through a series of ~10 individual drills in great detail, each working a specific skill set or objective that progressively built on the previous drill. They included but were not limited to reloading, trigger press, reset, mounting, and others. Many of these are covered in Dave’s dry fire video from Panteao, but were done so in the class in more detail. Like with other handling and firing drills, the dry drills exercised single-hand skills as well as two-handed skills.
During dry fire, some students commented that this portion of the class would have been better placed at the beginning of the class. It is true that they may have contributed to better earlier student performance. However, Dave’s placement of the drills gave this portion of instruction a more distinct value and context on TD2 than would have otherwise been realized on TD1.
Live fire exercises resumed after lunch, integrating forced reloading drills (F1-R1), and movement. Multi-round drills to emphasize grip control, sight tracking, and trigger press sequencing were also done.
Later, a steel target course was set up with dueling trees, mini poppers, and a plate rack to blend more skills while adding time pressure and performance anxiety under competition and direct observation of other students.
While I omit most of the finer details of exercises and curriculum, these represent the high points and basic framework of course. It was truly a compressed but comprehensive course on core pistol skills.
MISCELLANEA
Throughout it all, I found the following of particular note:
Dave demonstrated each drill in its entirety, and often shot in with students for emphasis. This adds a layer of credibility to the instructor, demonstrates proper technique and execution, and shows the student that the skill can in fact be done as requested.
Each demo and drill was explained in detail, including why it was important and what it revealed in the learning progression. This was often through guided discussion and facilitated self critique.
Dave gave out a good volume of purposeful feedback. Identification of areas for correction or further work was done while pointing out positive aspects of performance as well. Dave did indeed have great diagnostic ability, as well as ability to communicate effectively with students in a rate and manner appropriate to each. Instruction incorporated all learning modalities as well.
“Purposeful” is a good descriptor of all instruction, demos, tasks, and course as a whole. Each component had a place and inherent, progressive value. There was no discernable fluff for effect or as time-filler. Every round fired had an apparent purpose, without apparent waste.
Range facilities and conditions were good. Steel targets, target holders, supplies, classroom were all adequate for the tasks. The facility overall continues to develop and expand, and further refinements are scheduled.
CLETC staff support was outstanding, with visible, highly-motivated effort at seeing to student, instructor, and facility needs.
EQUIPMENT
Many will ask about the performance of various pieces of equipment present. While usually worth noting, I was far less deliberate about it in this class, and more focused on my shooting and learning. There were no surprises though, and I did catch the following:
I ended up shooting a little over 1000rds. 250 of it was the 147 HST, and the balance the Speer Lawman. My Trijicon HDs shoot high on this gun and require a 6:00 hold at distance with the 147s. I had no equipment failures or malfunctions of any kind. I didn’t clean my G19 between TD1 and TD2, and run a little over 1000rds in the two days on a single application of Slip EWL. This performance is as expected. If the gun won’t go 1000rds without attention, it is unsuitable for important purposes.
I saw a stoppage (type 2) in Dave’s gen4 G17 during a demo. He was shooting a 95gr bulk packed Corbon JHP. Others ran that load as well, without issue. The stoppage was anomalous. The other gen4 G17 in class ran fine, along with two other G19s that came and went with the Corbon folks.
The LDA failed to go into battery repeatedly throughout TD2. It probably needed a new recoil spring and a generous coat of quality lube. A six round magazine used would not function reliably.
The other two 1911s seemed okay.
Several 45acp rounds were picked up from the 1911 end of the line. They were still live, with dimpled primers. Unknown which gun they were ejected from, and they were reportedly handloads.
An M&P ran rough late on TD2, possibly mag and recoil spring related. A gun swap to another M&P fixed the issue.
The SAR Arms K2 was completely unsat. The sights were off by a stretch until Dave zeroed them later. It wouldn’t reliably feed a round from a fully loaded magazine. The inexperience and unfamiliarity of the owner contributed to the issues, and parsing out what happened and why was a bit of a challenge. Later, the same shooter was more effective with a borrowed M&P, further evidencing the gun as a significant variable. This gun ended up being an enormous time sink during class, diverting both owner and instructor attention.
Some students hadn’t brought the items required on the packing list, including a portion of the ammo. Support from Corbon staff and the pro-shop helped, as well as some borrowed gear from other students. Shooters helped each other out, but students must be attentive to packing lists.
CONCLUSION
My objectives at the outset were to …
identify strengths and weaknesses in my shooting
identify ways to improve it and make my handgun use more effective
experience other instructional methods, identifying tools useful in my skill retention and in coaching others
I accomplished each of these, and found the course a great value in reaching them. I left the course with a trigger snatch that I picked up TD2, but has since subsided with the help of the dry drills learned earlier that day along with a lot reverse ball-and-dummy. Progression continues. Instructional methods and course design were highly compatible with my learning style, and I would like to pick up a carbine course from Dave sometime in the future.
Dave Harrington “Comprehensive Pistol”
Corbon Training Center (www.cletc.us)
May 11-12, 2013
Earlier this month I traveled to the Corbon Training Center in Sturgis, SD to attend a pistol course from “Super Dave” Harrington. Based on the recommendations of credible others, Dave has been on my list of instructors to train with.
I reviewed several AARs and other posts published online prior to the course. There’s quite a bit of information and stories about Dave on the net. The word “intense” is probably the most frequently used descriptor for the man, material, and methods. There were no specific reviews for “Comprehensive Pistol”, and I learned that it was a custom course for Corbon. It would be neither a “basic” nor “advanced” course, nor was it a concealed carry or tactics course. Rather, it was as it was titled: a comprehensive pistol skills course, developing student ability to shoot the gun accurately, run it effectively, and keep it going to address the needs at hand.
My goals for the course were simple, primarily:
identify strengths and weaknesses in my shooting
identify ways to improve it and make my handgun use more effective
experience other instructional methods, identifying tools useful in my skill development and in coaching others
I try to define objectives and outcome measures going into training of any kind. In pre-course research, other students noted that Dave was particularly good at diagnosing shooter issues and coaching through them, while doing so in time and resource efficient way. The word “interesting” and “unique” were often used as well. All looked GTG. With the time, travel, resources, and energy involved, training is about one thing: learning. Smart investment is required.
Pre-course information from Corbon and Dave provided resource requirements and a packing list. Due to market conditions, the course was originally listed as requiring 2000rds, but was reduced to 1500. Other items on the packing list were those typical to quality pistol training courses, but added dummy cartridges, at least five magazines for high capacity guns (10 mags for others), and four magazine pouches. A first aid kit was also listed, along with a concealment garment of some sort, and flashlight for low light sessions. WML were optional.
My gear for the course included my EDC gen4 G19, which had been my dedicated shooter since my 9mm conversion in 12/2012. It had about 4000rds on it prior to the course, and was cleaned and lubed with EWL. For ammo, I took a case of Federal 147gr HST (P9HST2) and another of Speer Lawman 147gr TMJ (53620). This gear and other support items were all verified reliable prior to class.
TD1
The Corbon Training Center (alternately, Corbon Law Enforcement Training Center…CLETC) is a nice facility with a pro-shop, comfortable lounge, and classroom space that is separated from the firing ranges. The CLETC hosts their own programs by CLETC staff and instructors local to them, in addition to outside instructors. This class included Peter Pi Sr, founder of Corbon, who attended TD1. CLETC training director Jeff “Skipper” Wall did double duty as a shooter and host. The balance of the class was five regular folks, one of which was the lone lady shooter.
Student equipment was varied. One brought a Para Ordnance compact LDA, and another brought one each of a compact and full size 1911 (NFI). There was a single gen4 G17. There was one M&P full size, later swapped for another similar M&P. The last, a SAR Arms K2 in 45ACP, which ended up being no end of problems. More on equipment performance later.
Highlights from the morning classroom portion, in no particular order:
Safety- While not specifying the cardinal rules, safety expectations were to maintain muzzle awareness and keep fingers off triggers until we were shooting. Safety should be something that’s simply done, and rigid safety choreography can compromise realistic and efficient training. Dave runs a hot range, allows gun handling on and off the line as needed, and expects students to handle them in a safe matter. Procedures for injuries were discussed, and a BOK was brought out and identified for all.
Principles vs. Fundamentals- Dave’s methods are heavily centered on reinforcement of the principles involved in shooting, general things that must be done to shoot effectively. Fundamentals are how the particular principles are executed, and may vary in method. There was no dogma in methods, and no particular schools of thought were espoused. If there was dogma, it was only to shoot accurately, effectively, keep the gun in play, review results, and make adjustments where needed.
Training is categorized, analyzing- What must you need to know or do to get the gun in action, keep it there, and get it back in action when out? How do you analyze skill and evaluate performance, and how do you progress?
Other key points- You are responsible for yourself. You are either doing what you need to be doing, or not. Focus on what you’ve done properly, not what you’ve done wrong.
A key tenant recurring throughout the weekend: Everything is important, and everything matters.
There is a great deal more to the above, but to elaborate further doesn’t do the material justice. It does serve as the major structure to all learning that would follow however, and the overall instructional approach.
Range Time
Nearly all range exercises emphasized and exercised proficiency with not only two-handed shooting, but in the use of the “primary gun hand” and “alternate gun hand.” Dave asserts that a shooter should be equally capable with whatever hand is holding the gun at the time. Targets used were primarily the excellent VTAC target (http://www.letargets.com/estylez_item.aspx?item=VTAC-P), the FBI IP bullseye, and a reduced torso steel target owned by the training center.
Dave led the class through a series of initial, warm-up, diagnostic assessment exercises on the VTAC bullseye targets. Range exercises thereafter were a progressive walk through integration of holster presentations, imposition of time and stress, alternate target sizes, multiple targets, and distance. There were also a series of walk-back drills. All of the above integrated both two-handed and single-handed shooting. The majority of shooting was done at the 10yd line and beyond, with a hearty chunk at the 25yd specifically. Distance is unforgiving of shooting errors, and emphasizes the need for simultaneous, solid execution of the fundamentals.
Of note during live fire:
Again, there was no specific dogma or shooting doctrine specified. Specific methods of draw to the target, grip, stance, etc were left to the student, with performance on target being the measure of effectiveness. Dave did offer corrections, suggestions, and guidance where required.
Set a time standard to work toward. Per Dave, a good goal would be to add a decimal point to the distance you’re shooting at for a hit on target… 10yds=1.0 second, 15=1.5sec, 25yds=2.5 sec. While these standards are optimistic for many, it is achievable with work. Without goals and standards progress cannot be measured.
The most important portion of the handgun sights are the top right angles on the front post and in the rear notch. The eye has a natural tendency to center objects within spaces, leaving the majority of sighting errors to be errors in elevation alignments. Focusing on the top angles of the front and rear is comparatively more rapid and less busy than alignment of the full vertical surface of the front within the full surface of the rear notch.
Shooting stopped at 1700. By popular vote, an optional night fire session resumed later at dusk. During the night fire session, Dave reviewed various methods to employ the handgun effectively in dim light and darkness, including muzzle flash demos, flashlight techniques (neck index, Rogers, Harries) as well as muzzle flash illumination and sight indexing. A series of drills were fired integrating the various methods on steel targets, mostly at 25yds.
TD2
Sunday shooting begins at 1100 due to nearby neighbors and a church. Class gathered at 0800 anyway, and used the time to cover Dave’s dry fire regimen and an assortment of drills.
This period of time alone was worth its weight in gold. Dave walked the class through a series of ~10 individual drills in great detail, each working a specific skill set or objective that progressively built on the previous drill. They included but were not limited to reloading, trigger press, reset, mounting, and others. Many of these are covered in Dave’s dry fire video from Panteao, but were done so in the class in more detail. Like with other handling and firing drills, the dry drills exercised single-hand skills as well as two-handed skills.
During dry fire, some students commented that this portion of the class would have been better placed at the beginning of the class. It is true that they may have contributed to better earlier student performance. However, Dave’s placement of the drills gave this portion of instruction a more distinct value and context on TD2 than would have otherwise been realized on TD1.
Live fire exercises resumed after lunch, integrating forced reloading drills (F1-R1), and movement. Multi-round drills to emphasize grip control, sight tracking, and trigger press sequencing were also done.
Later, a steel target course was set up with dueling trees, mini poppers, and a plate rack to blend more skills while adding time pressure and performance anxiety under competition and direct observation of other students.
While I omit most of the finer details of exercises and curriculum, these represent the high points and basic framework of course. It was truly a compressed but comprehensive course on core pistol skills.
MISCELLANEA
Throughout it all, I found the following of particular note:
Dave demonstrated each drill in its entirety, and often shot in with students for emphasis. This adds a layer of credibility to the instructor, demonstrates proper technique and execution, and shows the student that the skill can in fact be done as requested.
Each demo and drill was explained in detail, including why it was important and what it revealed in the learning progression. This was often through guided discussion and facilitated self critique.
Dave gave out a good volume of purposeful feedback. Identification of areas for correction or further work was done while pointing out positive aspects of performance as well. Dave did indeed have great diagnostic ability, as well as ability to communicate effectively with students in a rate and manner appropriate to each. Instruction incorporated all learning modalities as well.
“Purposeful” is a good descriptor of all instruction, demos, tasks, and course as a whole. Each component had a place and inherent, progressive value. There was no discernable fluff for effect or as time-filler. Every round fired had an apparent purpose, without apparent waste.
Range facilities and conditions were good. Steel targets, target holders, supplies, classroom were all adequate for the tasks. The facility overall continues to develop and expand, and further refinements are scheduled.
CLETC staff support was outstanding, with visible, highly-motivated effort at seeing to student, instructor, and facility needs.
EQUIPMENT
Many will ask about the performance of various pieces of equipment present. While usually worth noting, I was far less deliberate about it in this class, and more focused on my shooting and learning. There were no surprises though, and I did catch the following:
I ended up shooting a little over 1000rds. 250 of it was the 147 HST, and the balance the Speer Lawman. My Trijicon HDs shoot high on this gun and require a 6:00 hold at distance with the 147s. I had no equipment failures or malfunctions of any kind. I didn’t clean my G19 between TD1 and TD2, and run a little over 1000rds in the two days on a single application of Slip EWL. This performance is as expected. If the gun won’t go 1000rds without attention, it is unsuitable for important purposes.
I saw a stoppage (type 2) in Dave’s gen4 G17 during a demo. He was shooting a 95gr bulk packed Corbon JHP. Others ran that load as well, without issue. The stoppage was anomalous. The other gen4 G17 in class ran fine, along with two other G19s that came and went with the Corbon folks.
The LDA failed to go into battery repeatedly throughout TD2. It probably needed a new recoil spring and a generous coat of quality lube. A six round magazine used would not function reliably.
The other two 1911s seemed okay.
Several 45acp rounds were picked up from the 1911 end of the line. They were still live, with dimpled primers. Unknown which gun they were ejected from, and they were reportedly handloads.
An M&P ran rough late on TD2, possibly mag and recoil spring related. A gun swap to another M&P fixed the issue.
The SAR Arms K2 was completely unsat. The sights were off by a stretch until Dave zeroed them later. It wouldn’t reliably feed a round from a fully loaded magazine. The inexperience and unfamiliarity of the owner contributed to the issues, and parsing out what happened and why was a bit of a challenge. Later, the same shooter was more effective with a borrowed M&P, further evidencing the gun as a significant variable. This gun ended up being an enormous time sink during class, diverting both owner and instructor attention.
Some students hadn’t brought the items required on the packing list, including a portion of the ammo. Support from Corbon staff and the pro-shop helped, as well as some borrowed gear from other students. Shooters helped each other out, but students must be attentive to packing lists.
CONCLUSION
My objectives at the outset were to …
identify strengths and weaknesses in my shooting
identify ways to improve it and make my handgun use more effective
experience other instructional methods, identifying tools useful in my skill retention and in coaching others
I accomplished each of these, and found the course a great value in reaching them. I left the course with a trigger snatch that I picked up TD2, but has since subsided with the help of the dry drills learned earlier that day along with a lot reverse ball-and-dummy. Progression continues. Instructional methods and course design were highly compatible with my learning style, and I would like to pick up a carbine course from Dave sometime in the future.