Applied Fundamentals (Pistol) – Dec. 2-4, 2022 – Linden, Calif.

A superb course

Applied Fundamentals is a superb course teaching the technique of drawing a pistol from the holster and accurately shooting. The instructors are excellent with the class size small enough so there is a great deal of one on one instruction.

The class also stresses the ultimate goal of safe pistol handling, the students are always managed with this in mind and teach this concept throughout the 3 days of the course.

I am ready for the next course

HR had the swagger to keep everyone’s attention. Only to back it up at the middle and end of the course. His team – Steve, Tony and Blake were exceptional in analysis, remedy, and encouragement.

With the practice of the concepts that HR communicated, I am confident that my skills will improve consistently.

I am ready for the next course.

I will save my training dollars and wait for any person on their team to put on a course

I have taken more than a dozen courses at various training facilities. But less purposeful practice from generalist instructor tips does not produce the kind of performance I want. Op Spec is not a generalist training group, they train toward precision, breaking the shooter’s less effective habits down and rebuilding them with a clear understanding of purpose.

I will save my training dollars and wait for any person on their team to put on a course.

Definitely recommended

Definitely recommended. This course will be a game-changer for those who really want to learn how to manipulate a trigger.

My time and money were well spent

Excellent class. HR and his associate instructors have demonstrably invested a great deal of thought, skill and enthusiasm into their product, resulting in a great learning experience for all participating students, irrespective of skill level.

Emphasis on the implementation of the fundamental principles of shooting (reset-prep-confirm-roll, along with their other requisite components) is applicable to all of my current and future training. My time and money were well spent. Highly recommended.

Great class

Great class, with lots of detail to trigger prep. Helped me a lot to slow down, and concentrate on the prep. It will make me a better shooter, with more accuracy. Lots to take away from ,with slowing down before jumping on the gas pedal.

I truly appreciate all they gave during this three-day course

This was my second time taking the course and although it served somewhat as a refresher l still gained more valuable knowledge about my weaknesses and more importantly how to go about correcting them.

HR and his coaches immediately impressed us with their professionalism, knowledge and ability. They are leaders to who one gives their full attention and respect. I truly appreciate all they gave during this three-day course.

I would not change a thing

I was looking for a class that would help me improve my shooting from the ground up. I found exactly what I was looking for. The focus on trigger prep and applying it to different situations cemented the concept and the feel of what I am supposed to be doing firmly into my mind.

Each of the instructors – HR, Steve, Tony and Blake – had a different approach to the material which made learning. I was very happy with the organized, step-by-step method which kept the information being presented from becoming overwhelming. Although it sounds like a cliche, I would not change a thing.

That is best demonstrated by the fact that I would happily take the course again because I know I would get even more out of it the second time.

Incredible instructor

HR is an incredible instructor. His passion for his student’s improvement is obvious.

Loved the mental aspect of the training

Best pistol class I have ever taken. Loved the mental aspect of the training and getting out of my own head. Harold knows his stuff. He brought skills that go beyond just shooting to the class.

Best class I’ve taken to date

Prep more, suck less! The best class I’ve taken to date. Coach HR developed a training program that delivers results. His ability to break down the concept of trigger control and effectively present it to shooters of different proficiency levels is unparalleled. The one-on-one instruction along with the coach’s additional input will not allow one to go through the motions of pulling the trigger. This three-day course requires you to follow the methodology and keep your focus, if you can do that, good results will follow. The technique and drills taught are easily transferred to practice at home with both dry and live fire. Take this course from OpSpec Training and you will NOT be disappointed!

All four instructors want you to be a better shooter

All four instructors want you to be a better shooter taking the time to analyze every shot you took. On a personal note, HR is the best and he really pushed me with the exercises in class and correcting my bad habits and shooting style from years of poor instruction.

I very strongly recommend this class

I very strongly recommend this class to any shooter that wants to take their skill to the next level. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been shooting for 1 year or 40 years, everyone leaves a much better shooter with a whole new level of understanding trigger control.

Take your skills to the next level

HR and his assistants Steve and Alan provide you with the opportunity to take your skills to the next level. You will work hard and push yourself to be successful. Great instruction delivered in an entertaining and clear manner. regardless of where you were at prior to the course, you will walk away with more knowledge, insight and capability than when you started.

Not just a “have fun” on the range class

This class is a great learning experience where the students will not just learn technique, but also a wealth of knowledge. This class is not just a “have fun” on the range class. This is straight forward no non-sense learning experience on trigger control techniques. If you are serious on improving your skills, and welcome instructor feedback that will make you better, this is the class for you. This class will mostly be enjoyed by serious shooters, who are looking to greatly improve their abilities.

Ability to pass on his knowledge is incomprehensible

I recently attended the Applied Fundamentals class with HR Hawkins. The depth of HR’s understanding of the subject matter, his awareness of what is happening on an unimaginable level and his ability to pass on his knowledge is incomprehensible.

Ultra-refined instruction on trigger control

The class to take if you want to become a better shooter. You will receive an ultra-refined instruction on trigger control that will result in immediate and significant improvement. Make every effort to take this class. OpSpec Training is light years ahead of other organizations in their approach to teaching trigger control and improved marksmanship.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course

HR and Troy were excellent instructors. Well informed, knowledgeable and skilled in pistol shooting. Took the stress of anticipation away by saying “there was nothing new to be learned” after the first hour. However, little gradual additions were made along the course so that realistically we performed much different “courses of fire” at the end than in the beginning.

I thoroughly enjoyed this course and would come to other Florida based courses limited to 3-3.5 days. Excellent.

The first time I have taken time to give a review of a class

I just finished a class last weekend at Okeechobee with HR and the team at OpSpec Training. Over the last 20 years I have been to more than 30 classes in four different states.

HR is one of the finest instructors I have had the pleasure of spending time with. He not only can handle a firearm very well and has the safest handling I have seen.

When I would call my wife during the class she wanted to know how safe it was this time. She was very happy to hear my report. Not only is he a great speaker, but for someone of his abilities to be able to slow down enough to teach people that are new to his teachings is incredible!

By the way, this is the first time I have taken time to give a review of a class.

Well structured and very well executed

Excellent. HR was extremely knowledgable, professional, polite and very focused on safety and first aid. Troy and Emmitt were very professional as well and great guys to boot.

An excellent class well structured and very well executed. Top notch instruction from top notch people. 5 stars all the way. I will be attending another class early next year. Thank you!

Individual improvement regardless of initial skill level

The one-on-one instruction over the course of three days and over 1,500 rounds allowed for individual improvement regardless of initial skill level. Highly recommended.

Every round you fire is watched

Don’t take this class if you only take courses for the cool “experience” or if you are sensitive about having your trigger work x-rayed by serious dudes. Every round you fire is watched… every frigging round. There is constant feedback when you’re shooting. That means there’s nowhere to hide and no way to switch off your brain and just cruise.

This is a 3-day exercise in mental discipline. It just so happens you have a gun in your hand. But if you keep engaged, you will get better. More importantly you’ll take away skills to help you diagnose and improve your shooting.

I got faster AND more accurate

From Day 1 to Day 3, I cut my score in half on the assessment drills. I got faster AND more accurate. A simple premise that we practice for three days and have confirmation at the end that we got better. Harold, Tony & Doug were awesome, each seeing different things in each of us and we got to work with all three.

A complete game changer

This class was a complete game changer. It forced me to actually track and understand what I was doing as I was doing it. This allowed me much more control over my shooting. This class gave me what I have been looking for over these last seven years. If you have any opportunity to take this class, you absolutely should.

Take this class

If you truly want to improve you shooting skills take this class.

The course is both challenging and rewarding

Applied Fundamentals provides the advanced level of instruction needed to prepare the student for action shooting competition, with focus and training on both the physical and mental levels. The course is both challenging and rewarding, and upon completion the student demonstrates significant improvement, while obtaining knowledge and guidance for establishing their own future training sessions to support continued development.

Best bang for my buck, hands down

Just finished three days of Applied Fundamentals. You can throw money at training anytime. But, if you’re going to spend the money choose to invest in yourself by training with OpSpec. HR Hawkins and Jerry Jones are truly gifted communicators in breaking it all down into incremental steps, resulting in huge gains in not only skill, but in understanding the how and why of it all.

Best bang for my buck, hands down. Thanks, OpSpec, I’ll be back.

Amazing instructor

HR is an amazing instructor, and his unique approach to analyzing problems and training is truly a gift. I’m sure there is no one else teaching it this way, unless they got it from HR. Even then, I’m not sure they could teach it as well. He seemed to be always observing and processing, pointing out not only errors while we were shooting, but even spotting errors during warmup or visualization that would lead to errors while shooting.

This is training I could’ve used thirty years ago

This is training I could’ve used thirty years ago. The entire weekend was focused on one thing and one thing only – trigger control. I’ve always known I wasn’t doing things exactly the way I should be, but never had it broken down for me. Now I have. And every bit as importantly, I now have the tools going forward to self-diagnose.

Provided me the tools to become a better competitive and tactical shooter

Anyone can shoot fast and most of us can shoot accurate but shooting fast and accurate while changing positions and sight pictures is a totally different thing. Applied Fundamentals provided me the tools to become a better competitive and tactical shooter.

The one-on-one training was invaluable

I really enjoyed my three day course! The one-on-one training was invaluable to my progress. I am already planning to attend many more OpSpec Training classes, especially MOAC!

The OpSpec Training instructors were top notch

This was my third Operation Specific class after Practical Fundamentals and MOAC. Even though MOAC was billed as a high level class, I felt the Practical Fundamentals was more difficult because it focused solely on trigger reset and prep – in other words, the foundation for faster shooting. As we discussed in class, this is simple but not easy.

I would retake this class because it is the single most important skill I need to improve my shooting.

As usual, the Op Spec instructors were top notch.