Randy’s Bio

Randy Harris is a life long student of the gun and all things self defense oriented. He began his instructor career teaching Handgun Carry Permit classes in Chattanooga TN in 1999. In 2005 he was chosen by Gabe Suarez as one of the original Suarez International staff instructors (Tier 1 Status). At the time of his departure from Suarez he was the longest serving instructor in the company with 15 years experience and having taught over 200 classes for the organization all over the eastern United States. With over 25 years of experience teaching shooting and self defense classes and working in the shooting industry , Randy now  teaches his own original curricula under the banner of Harris Combative Strategies.  Randy holds Master Instructor and Advanced Shotgun Instructor certifications from Rangemaster, a  Pistol Instructor certification from the National Rifle Association,  Handgun Carry Permit Instructor certification for the state of Tennessee and is a factory certified Glock Armorer.

Randy is able to share his extensive knowledge from decades of experience carrying concealed weapons in public and an extensive training and teaching resume. Not only is he able to teach students the skills, tactics and strategies to win a fight, but when to fight and how to avoid one if possible. He spent several years in college working the door at a night club where he gained practical experience and insight into not only how to end fights quickly, but how to use verbal skills and body language to diffuse situations and avoid them if possible.

Randy is a sponsored Master class shooter in six divisions in IDPA (International Defensive Pistol Association) and is a Master class shooter in GSSF (Glock Sport Shooting Foundation) . He has competed in everything from IDPA and GSSF to “Shoot SIG” competitions, The Pin Shoot, 3 Gun, and NFA Subgun competition, Steel Challenge and SASS Cowboy Action (shooting under the alias of Cruel Hand Luke). He has had articles published in several defense oriented internet newsletters and publications and has appeared on several shooting industry podcasts.  He has been a practitioner at the National Tactical Invitational and has attended and been a multi time presenter at the Rangemaster Tactical Conference/Polite Society Match and was a participant at the inaugural Rangemaster Professional Trainers’ Symposium in 2023.  He also scored two Top 3 finishes in the Tac Con/Polite Society match while shooting against some of the best serious gunmen and defensive shooting instructors in the country.

He holds both an Advanced Ranking (and the coveted Red Pin for top score in his class) from the Rogers Shooting School and holds Turbo Pin # 8 from Gabe White’s Pistol Shooting Solutions class, both of which he accomplished his first try and both were accomplished while shooting from concealment. He finished 2nd in Compact Carry Pistol at the  Tennessee IDPA State Championship in 2016 , then won both the Tennessee and the Georgia IDPA State Championships in the Back Up Gun division in 2022 . He won the Arkansas State Championship and finished 2nd in the Alabama State Championship in 2024 and finished in the top 20 in the Stock Service Pistol Division (14th in the Master Class) at the 2015 IDPA World Championship and had a 5th place Master Back Up Gun finish at the 2023 IDPA World Championship He also 5th place in Master Backup Gun at the 2024 IDPA National Championship. 

“I use competitive shooting as just a part of my overall regimen in training for interpersonal conflict . Competition itself is not the main  reason for my training . I believe it is important to compete to see how well REALLY good shooters perform and to test your skills against them. I use matches the same way I use dry fire and live fire , weight lifting, cardio and attending classes and seminars – to make me a better overall practitioner and instructor. The journey never ends. “

Randy and his wife Brandi have been happily married for 24 years and are active in their church. Randy is a founding member of the church safety team and Brandi is the worship band leader.