1946
- 1966-1971 US Army 19th SFG – Staff Sergeant Weapons Specialist
- US Army Special Forces Small Arms Instructor
- Deputy Sheriff – Washington County SO, Ohio
- 1975 Met Jeff Cooper
- Gunsite Instructor
- One of the First Traveling Firearms Instructors
- NRA Police Firearms Instructor.
- FBI Certified Firearms Instructor
- 1975 wrote a column for Soldier of Fortune magazine
- Writer for: Guns & Ammo, Combat Handguns, Soldier Of Fortune, American Handgunner
- 1976 – Founding member of IPSC
- 1996 – Founding member of IDPA.
- 2016 – AZTEC Training Services
About Ken Hackathorn
Ken Hackathorn is one of the longest-serving names in American defensive firearms training. His background includes service as a U.S. Army Special Forces small arms instructor, work as a Gunsite instructor and NRA police firearms instructor, and certification as an FBI firearms instructor. He has also served as a deputy sheriff with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio, including work as a Special Response Team member and trainer. He has trained U.S. military special operations forces and Marine FAST and SOTG units, worked as a contract small arms trainer for FBI SWAT and the Hostage Rescue Team, and taught federal, state and local law enforcement agencies as well as private citizens in open-enrollment classes.
Hackathorn helped shape two of the major action pistol sports. He was a founding member of the International Practical Shooting Confederation in 1976, and in 1996 he joined Bill Wilson, John Sayle, Dick Thomas, Walt Rauch and Larry Vickers in founding the International Defensive Pistol Association. IDPA was built around practical carry guns, concealment and realistic defensive scenarios rather than heavily modified race guns. His writing has appeared in Guns & Ammo, Combat Handguns, Soldier of Fortune and American Handgunner, and in 2016 Colt named him to its Colt Combat Unit advisory team.
Key Facts
- 1976: Founding member of the International Practical Shooting Confederation (IPSC).
- 1996: Co-founds the International Defensive Pistol Association (IDPA), now based in Bogata, Texas.
- 2016: Named to the Colt Combat Unit, Colt’s team of military and training advisors.
Sources
- Inside Look: Colt Combat Unit (Gun Digest, 2016)
- International Defensive Pistol Association (Wikipedia)
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