1 on 1 Training

[baodown]

Thank you to everyone who chimed in. Much appreciated!

[rodralig]

I've never been to CA, but I think he's in San Jose.

[pythonfan]

Avoid reeds like the plague.

Don lazzerini teaches at reeds and is a wealth of knowledge

Harry at US Firearms is as well. Call/email either to get the ball rolling.

[Duck Killer]

Don lazzerini teaches at reeds and is a wealth of knowledge

Harry at US Firearms is as well. Call/email either to get the ball rolling.

Reeds has been screwing people over for as long as I have been alive. Including trying to sell my sister a Glock 19 for $1100 yesterday. I just love how people love supporting gunshops that will screw them over.

[TempleKnight]

Depends on the instructor!

I have seen instructors that charge $150/hour with a minimum of 3-hrs.

Then seen those that charge $200/3-hrs + range fee included.

And the highest I have seen $1000/3-hrs (I won't name who and from what school)... I mean, even the Tactical Performance Center in Utah does NOT charge that much!

TPC in Utah is worth the trip.
If Sacramento works for you I would recommend One on One Firearms. They have classes from beginner to advanced competition.

https://oneononefirearms.com/private-firearms-instruction/

_

[Dutch3]

Second is vet your instructor. To continue that driving analogy that Driver's Ed teacher probably isn't the one who will teach you how to become the next Keiichi Tsuchiya.

This. I had an idiot "instructor" decide to pitch a clay target downrange during a cease-fire at the Oroville outdoor range.

I was out setting targets and saw the clay arcing up and coming toward me. I tried to dodge it but it hit me in the leg. It drew blood.

Idiot yells, 'It was supposed to go the other way!"

I replied, "It didn't !" I wanted to punch the guy in the face, but settled on informing his students that their "instructor" was an imbecile.

Any "instructor" choosing to pitch clays downrange during a cease-fire needs to have their "instructor" status revoked. I still want to hit that guy.

[tawadc95]

LMS Defense does privates..great training.

[hambam105]

If Reed's told me the sky was blue I'd know for sure that this isn't a Reed's Employee.

[OCEquestrian]

I usually charge $500 per person for the day. Private range 4 to 8 hour class. You will shoot 1000-2000 rounds.

A 4-8 hour basic class and 1000 - 2000 rounds? REALLY?

Also my personal opinion is based off of round count. The more rounds fired the more experience you get. So find out how many rounds are fired during the class. There is other factors to a good instructor but you should get as much as you can out of a class.

LMAO.., exactly the opposite of what most professionals will say/do...

[357manny]

You could take the day of training for a hunting license. It's a classroom setting with some other attendees that will only involve "book study" and no actual shooting.

Why am I recommending this? Well, it's very inexpensive and will focus on a lot of safety and beginning fundamentals. That will get you started in the right direction and save you some money for your subsequent classes where you spend time on the range. Also, you can usually get some additional tips on where to get advanced training that suits your needs from the instructor for that class.

It's nice to see beginners that have the good sense to take some classes instead of just winging it.

[AreWeFree]

T3 pros runs a nice class and it's a lot of fun, great group of people and great day at the range, would definitely recommend. https://www.facebook.com/t3pros/

Don't be scared away since it's a class, the instructors will give you personal attention, and you'll learn a lot talking with the other guys there too.

[Duck Killer]

A 4-8 hour basic class and 1000 - 2000 rounds? REALLY?





LMAO.., exactly the opposite of what most professionals will say/do...

Yes it is. They want to charge you how much money for how little of shooting. I offer all day class. 500 pistol 500 rifle or more if the shooter wants. That isn’t bad at all. But you spend your money on a couple hour class that you shoot a couple hundred rounds. You learn by pulling the trigger not talking about it all day. Also you have to be tired to start making mistakes. Once you get to that point we can start fixing problems that most people never know they had. Additionally what is extreme or wrong about shooting 100-200 rounds per hour. Is that to much for you?. Just because someone is an expert on paper doesn’t mean that they know what they are doing. Anyone can state they know what they are doing and start training people. Very few trainers are actually worth the time and money. But on the other hand most people who go to these class would never know and think it was great.

Basic class or not. People especially new shooters have to learn not to be afraid of the gun and or become comfortable with it. Shooting a couple hundred rounds makes them feel a little more comfortable but they can be and most likely are still scared of that gun. Allowing them to get as much trigger time to gain experience and the down time to get comfortable with the gun is huge.

[Gun Kraft]

Different instructors will probably have different approaches to teaching beginners. Some parts may be radically different, some more or less similar. I will say my approach is radically different from what Duck Killer describes and leave it at that.

There was a recent thread where a guy described a friend who took private lessons from an instructor who taught some questionable techniques. As a novice the student had no basis for comparison and was happy with the instruction he received even though he shot poorly.

A while back I took a class from Bruce Gray. We didn't fire a round the first half day and I (along with most of the class) quickly got tired of the drills Bruce made us do. But boy did they pay off when we did start shooting. That class wasn't nearly as enjoyable as other classes I've taken but the lessons I learned from it were priceless.

At the end of the day it's all about value. How much did you spend in money, time and ammo, compared to how much did it help you improve? None of us have limitless resources, so we have to spend what we have wisely to receive maximum value.

[Duck Killer]

Different instructors will probably have different approaches to teaching beginners. Some parts may be radically different, some more or less similar. I will say my approach is radically different from what Duck Killer describes and leave it at that.

There was a recent thread where a guy described a friend who took private lessons from an instructor who taught some questionable techniques. As a novice the student had no basis for comparison and was happy with the instruction he received even though he shot poorly.

A while back I took a class from Bruce Gray. We didn't fire a round the first half day and I (along with most of the class) quickly got tired of the drills Bruce made us do. But boy did they pay off when we did start shooting. That class wasn't nearly as enjoyable as other classes I've taken but the lessons I learned from it were priceless.

At the end of the day it's all about value. How much did you spend in money, time and ammo, compared to how much did it help you improve? None of us have limitless resources, so we have to spend what we have wisely to receive maximum value.

[OCEquestrian]

You are 100% right that my approach is vastly different then almost all other training in the Bay Area. I have a private range that I own and can set up anything that someone wants to shoot. Including shooting at night to shooting out over a mile. Everyone else in the Bay Area is limited to what there Range allows and the cost associated with that range. So there training is pretty cookie cutter and sometimes revolves around cutting costs to keep training cost reasonably. I only do 1-3 person groups. That is only if they know each other. There is a big difference from what I do and what you do. I am not set up or ever want to train large groups. I don’t have the capacity for that. But for the person who wants to learn and shoot a lot in one day. I can offer something that no one else can. Everyone seems to be doing the same thing. I am doing something different and it works for some people.

What exactly are your Credentials / resume to be training students in tactical handgun skills?

Yes it is. They want to charge you how much money for how little of shooting. I offer all day class. 500 pistol 500 rifle or more if the shooter wants. That isn’t bad at all. But you spend your money on a couple hour class that you shoot a couple hundred rounds. You learn by pulling the trigger not talking about it all day. Also you have to be tired to start making mistakes. Once you get to that point we can start fixing problems that most people never know they had. Additionally what is extreme or wrong about shooting 100-200 rounds per hour. Is that to much for you?. Just because someone is an expert on paper doesn’t mean that they know what they are doing. Anyone can state they know what they are doing and start training people. Very few trainers are actually worth the time and money. But on the other hand most people who go to these class would never know and think it was great.

Basic class or not. People especially new shooters have to learn not to be afraid of the gun and or become comfortable with it. Shooting a couple hundred rounds makes them feel a little more comfortable but they can be and most likely are still scared of that gun. Allowing them to get as much trigger time to gain experience and the down time to get comfortable with the gun is huge.

I can only assume by the above that you dont charge much for your classes. You teach correct basic principles, then reinforce that learning with the foundation of muscle memory with repetition... of stance/grip/sight alignment/sight picture/trigger control and follow thru.

I remember a story about a guy standing in front of a plate rack practicing drawing and shooting all the plates as fast as he could. One of his co-workers came a long and asked the shooter what he was doing...he responded he is trying to become a better and faster shooter and using the plate rack to practice. The co-worker, a retired Army SF vet, asked him which plate was the hardest of the 6 to hit...the response from the shooter was that the first one was.

The co-worker agreed and responded; instead of seeing how fast you can shoot six plates at a time once, why not practice how fast you can shoot one plate at a time six times.

There is no freaking way a beginner can do 500 to 1000 proper, correct presentations supervised by an instructor in a 6-8 hour class.

Required rounds with some of the professional training operations around ( which is always a bit more than those shot) as follows;

Thunder Ranch Defensive Handgun I 425 rnds/day
GunSite 250 Pistol Class 210 rnds/day
SiG Academy Pistol 102 250 rnds/day
Direct Action Group Tac Pistol I/II 300 rnds/day
TMACS/Pat McNamara 400 rnds/day
Aztec Training/ Larry Vickers Advanced Pistol 500 rnds/day
OpSpec Training/Bruce Grey / Practical Pistol 250 rnds/day
ITTS/Scott Reitz Handgun I/II 325 rnds/day (avg of 2 classes)