The enphasis is on fundamentals. You will be amazed at how much Randy's instruction will help you. He will analyze your technique and point out what areas you need to concentrate on. Randy is more of a coach type instructor than a drill instructor type.
I would tend to agree that the three day course is about ideal for a serious class. I've taken one day classes at another school and they don't allow enough repititions to really improve your shooting.
Randy teaches the Modern Technique following Cooper/Gunsite doctrine in most respects. (Note--I haven't taken a Gunsite class so I don't purport to compare the course I took at Southern Exposure to Gunsite in any way.) You may want to pick up Greg Morrison's book The Modern Technique of the Pistol as a "study guide" to familiarize yourself with the techniques that will be taught. The book is a bit dated relative to what Randy teaches but is a good starting point.
Irv Lehman, who organizes classes at Southern Exposure, and Joe Seybold, the owner of the range, are great guys. (Irv's wife is a hell of a shooter, too.) My class was very small but full of really nice folks. I enjoyed socializing almost as much as the class itself.
Wear cargo pants or shorts. You will need to carry lots of mags/speedloaders and ammo with you to the line and that is the most convenient way to do it. I used a 1911 with 6 mags and got down the last few rounds in my last mag a few times.
When you're not shooting, you should be loading. Load your mags/speedloaders whenever your gun is in your holster.
Make sure your holster and belt will be comfortable enough to wear all day.
USE HIGH QUALITY FACTORY AMMO. Don't bring reloads or cheap foreign junk. One shooter in my class spent half the class trying to figure out why his Glocks weren't running right. He was using lightly loaded handloads. He also had a bullet from one of his reloads pop out of the case when it was chambered and lodge in the barrel. Fortunately, he realized what happend as he was performing a malfunction clearance and didn't fire the round he chambered after it and blow the gun.
Bring a gun that works. In the classes I have taken, 1911s have worked, Glocks have worked, SIGs have worked, and HKs have worked. I've seen Berettas, Walthers, and S&Ws (P99s) crap the bed (usually within the first two hours of the class). Never had a revolver shooter in one of my classes so can't comment about what works in that department.
Make sure your gun can go at least 600 rounds without a cleaning. If it won't, you'll need to plan on cleaning after each day's class. Keep in mind that the night shoot ends at about 10:00 on the second day of class. You will be tired at the end of the day and probably won't feel like taking the time to clean your weapon (especially if you are driving from the range back to Tampa each night).
DO plan on cleaning your mags. You will be dropping them in the dirt and they will need it. (I think this is the single biggest reason people have trouble with usually reliable guns in training classes--they usually drop their mags in the dirt for the first time and then reload them and stick them back in the gun. Instant jammamatic.)
Hope that helps. Email or pm me if you wish to discuss further.
