Taking a class

[KR_H]

Wondering what class to take and hoping you ladies will make suggestions to steer me in the right direction.

I'm not sure a Basic Class is what I need. I'm familiar with all phases of gun safety, the workings of the firearm (9mm), can easily rack the slide and am not afraid of the weapon since going to both indoor and outdoor ranges almost every week since my purchase. I have the right mind-set. You get the picture!

So what I'm looking for is more than basic, but I'm still a new enthusiast. I need technique, sight picture, narrowing my groupings etc. And to nip in the bud any poor technique I may have picked up.

In other words I'm not sure I want to spend half the allotted time in a classroom setting; just more in the practical aspect of shooting.

Any suggestions are most appreciated.

[DVSmith]

What area are you located in

[powaybob]

Many ranges offer Defensive Handgun courses that last a full day or so. That is a good starting point. Generally they will offer a two courses in defensive handgun, with the second teaching other skills like malfunction response. It's ok to take a course over again until you are comfortable.

Some community colleges that have a law enforcement curriculum may have a semester long course meeting once a week teaching proficiency.

Then there are places like Gunsight and Front Sight that over several days of intensive training that really hone your skills. Check the training forum here on Calguns. I would recommend something local before you go to one of those.

Good luck, and enjoy yourself. Don't drive yourself crazy (like I did) if you don't master a technique the first time you try it. Keep practicing and you will get there.

[9mmepiphany]

Before you dive into defense handgun courses, take a shooting class that will give you a good foundation is shooting technique.

A lot of defensive classes don't go into a lot of correct technique because it is...well, boring. But it is a fundamental skill that is often overlooked.

I'd also look for something local as the cost of travel and lodging at even the cheapest school can be prohibitive. I can teach in one day as much as they do in a week...working 1:1. But you can also break it up into smaller sections (2 hours) to spread out the cost and let the technique sink in. 1:1 instruction isn't inexpensive, but you learn a lot more with each shot fired

[powaybob]

9mm points out what I forgot. Hiring a qualified instructor one on one for a day could be the best bang for the buck, though a bit expensive. Here in San Diego the going rate is about $50 per hour for 1-1 or 1-2 students, which would put you at $400 for a full 8 hours. There is nothing better than an instructor totally focused on your skills and weaknesses to one your technique.

[tacticalcity]

Before you dive into defense handgun courses, take a shooting class that will give you a good foundation is shooting technique.

A lot of defensive classes don't go into a lot of correct technique because it is...well, boring. But it is a fundamental skill that is often overlooked.

I'd also look for something local as the cost of travel and lodging at even the cheapest school can be prohibitive. I can teach in one day as much as they do in a week...working 1:1. But you can also break it up into smaller sections (2 hours) to spread out the cost and let the technique sink in. 1:1 instruction isn't inexpensive, but you learn a lot more with each shot fired

What you say is true of a 1 day quick course. They tend to rush the process to fit everything in. Not necessarily because it is boring. But because there is a lot to cover in a very small amount of time and everyone has different levels of experience.

However, it is totally untrue of the 4 day courses that I have taken which spend an enourmous amount of time on the fundamentals...and in fine tuning your shooting. Front Sight, for example was all about stressing the fundamentals and repetition so you turn it into muscle memory.

My complaint about 1:1 courses, is there is too much chit chat and not enough adherance to a scheduel, which can more often than not lead to things never getting covered. The need to keep on task, so everybody gets their money's worth has proven to be a perk of the bigger classes for me. Left to my own devices I would talk and talk and talk. I'm not the only one who talks too much when they are in a new or uncomfortable situation, so I figure that's pretty common. You don't have that luxury in a class with other students. You can ask questions sure, but the instructors will not just sit there and BS with you the entire time.

So while I get what you are saying and can see how a class could go that way based on the individual instructor's personality or the length of the class, I don't really agree that 1:1 training would be the solution.

Personally I would avoid the 1:1 stuff at first, especially for a first time shooter who is likely going to have a million questions and be really nervious and thus even more inclined to be talky, and do a defensive course for the first one. Then after they have some basics down and some confidence then look into some 1:1 training to fine tune what they learned. If they can afford a big name school with a 4 Day course that is definately the way to go. Nothing will give as big a leap in improvement in such a relatively short period of time. But if all they can swing is a 1 day course, it still comes in very handy and is much more useful than just an NRA basic range safety course.

[MrsRazz]

I don't know where you're located, but the NRA has "Women on Target" classes at a lot of ranges. The prices range from $25 to $60 and includes the weapons used. You can follow the link from the NRA.

http://www.nrahq.org/women/isc/clinics.asp?Location=CA

[9mmepiphany]

My complaint about 1:1 courses, is there is too much chit chat and not enough adherance to a scheduel, which can more often than not lead to things never getting covered. The need to keep on task, so everybody gets their money's worth has proven to be a perk of the bigger classes for me. Left to my own devices I would talk and talk and talk. I'm not the only one who talks too much when they are in a new or uncomfortable situation, so I figure that's pretty common. You don't have that luxury in a class with other students. You can ask questions sure, but the instructors will not just sit there and BS with you the entire time.

So while I get what you are saying and can see how a class could go that way based on the individual instructor's personality or the length of the class, I don't really agree that 1:1 training would be the solution.

I don't disagree with you, as I've been to those classes too.

What I usually do is have clear goals for each 2 hour session and we work until we reach those goals. If it takes a bit longer, that's just the way it is...I don't bill for portions of hours. Plus my policy is: If You Don't Improve, You Don't Pay.

I recently took a client out (member here) who had basic safety down for a two hour grip and trigger management session...it went about a half hour long. But at the end she was placing her shots, at 5-7 yards into about an 1'5" group.

About chit chat. I once took a two day course (12 students) with Ernie Langdon...shortly after he had taken the National IDPA title with his Beretta...and he take/told war stories quite a bit. As we were wrapping it up, he explained that it was planed to break up the lesson, let folks rest and take inventory if folks were going into overload.

The smoothest run course I ever took was a Gunsite 250. We also took chit chat time, I think it was to break the instructors as the class was divided into two sections and one was always resting/reloading

[Manolito]

My wife just completed a renewal on her CCW and is taking a orientation to defensive shooting.

I don't try to teach family members skills it just doesn't work for me. When taking advanced defensive shooting classes I want to know the instructor was a trigger puller and has spent time in real live shooting scenarios. Reading a book and taking an instructors course isn't my idea of what you need to learn about controlling your breathing and how to deal with adrenalin dumps and learning to make the right decision when the situation is going bad around you.
Respectfully,
Bill

[tacticalcity]

I don't disagree with you, as I've been to those classes too.

The smoothest run course I ever took was a Gunsite 250. We also took chit chat time, I think it was to break the instructors as the class was divided into two sections and one was always resting/reloading

The Front Sight courses I have taken ran the same way. Split us into two groups and rotated us on and off the line, so there was as little down time as possible while still allowing everyone to not only reload their magazines but recharge their own batteries and get their BSing in without interupting the training. The instructor to student ratio was always really high as well, which is a perk.

I know Front Sight has its critics, all the schools do. But I've always made huge leaps in ability after every course I've taken with them. It is hard to argue with results. Plus they have actually toned down the sales pitches over the years.

GunSite has an amazing reputation, and Arizona is really nice. Glad you enjoyed your course there. Would love for my next course to be at GunSite. We'll see.

I've taken courses at smaller schools and enjoyed them very much. But as far as the level of improvement, the shorter courses didn't give the same results as four full days of instruction in a row. I would certainly recommend them to somebody who feels the four day courses are not an option however. You still learn a lot. You still get introduced to concepts and drills that will make you a much better shooter. And you get it for a fraction of what a big name school would cost. So I am not knocking them.

Nor am I knocking 1:1 instruction. Like you say, the instructor's organizational skills make all the difference.

[9mmepiphany]

I think a lot has to do with the knowledge base of the instructor and their teaching ability...really their experience in common faults and their cures.

The class that I learned the most at was just a little two day class in Sacto...out at SacValley. Most folks thought they got their money's worth the first day when we learned to handle the first DA trigger pull on SIGs, parallel resetting and prepping of the trigger in SA. The thing that a lot of folks liked was validation of trigger management when splitting edgewise playing cards in half from 5-7 yards on the last day...but there were only about 14 of us and we all shot together

[zombiescanlearn]

try this www.stcrispian.com

He's good and cheap. He even offers class specifically for women.

You can find him here on calguns:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=467279

[Steph]

try this www.stcrispian.com

He's good and cheap. He even offers class specifically for women.

You can find him here on calguns:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/s...d.php?t=467279

+1

He does cover the basics, but he also covers a lot of techniques that friends and family never showed me (specifically clearing malfunctions, definitely good to know), I learned a lot.

[KR_H]

I took Greg Block's Self-Defense Firearms Training Basic Handgun last Sunday out in Burro Canyon in Azusa. It was a lot of fun and well worth the time and money. The time just flew by.

Greg is entertaining, informative and knows what he's talking about. I'm a fan!