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Tactical/Home defense Course Questions and Reviews.

325K views 189 replies 113 participants last post by  Snakum 
#1 ·
I occasionally get questions about schools and training courses around the country. Since I know very little about the different schools around the U.S., I am creating this thread.

If any of you have have questions about training facilities, post them here. Likewise, if you have been to a school, I would love a review.

Even though this is a SHOTGUN forum, I am not limiting this review section to shotguns. Handguns, Rifles, Shotguns.

My only real requirement is that the courses must be related to tactical courses. I will accept classes such as "Beginner Handgun Class" since they are required to take the advanced Tactical classes.

Reviews:
Please include the school's Name, Address, Phone Number, Web address(if they have one), the Course you took, your review, and a Rating.

0.0-10.0 0.0 means stay away. 10.0 means you would recommend this school to everyone within 150 miles.

I hope this will help everyone who is looking for firearms training schools around the country.

Dirk/Guardian
 
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#4 ·
I had the opportunity to attend the Defensive Shotgun course at Thunder Ranch outside of San Antonio, TX. Thunder has a very nice set of facilities, and the quality of the instruction is quite good. The course was three days in duration, of which 1/2 day was lecture and 2.5 days range work, and wasn't cheap at $600. Clint Smith did the lecture portion, and four of his instructors ran the outdoor sessions. Of the instructor group (all very experienced), one was a pompous sort and the other three were REALLY good. This class is geared to the relatively inexperienced shotgunner, with lots of time spent on patterning, shell types & performance, form, shooting positions, etc. Good data, but if you've got lots of time in the saddle with scatterguns and/or defensive arms, about half of the class is going to be spent rehashing familiar ground. Round count for the entire course is estimated to be 525rds, but our usage was considerably lower, which left us the problem of surplus ammo we couldn't take on the plane. Overall, I give TR high marks, but this particular couse gets about a 7.0 rating from me. If TR ran an Advanced Shotgun course, that would have been the better choice for my buddies and I.
 
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#6 ·
I see alot of the good names above but there's one important name that shouldn't be left out when it comes to shotgun......Louis Awerbuck.

I took his Tactical Shotgun class recently and it was worth every single penny. After almost 20 years of teaching shotgun, first at Gunsite and now as part of his Yavapai Firearms Academy, I still think Louis is possibly the best.

Now, that said, during the class, he highly recommended Scott Reitz (spell?) @ ITTS (mentioned above). Spoke higly of ITTS and the caliber of their instructors.
 
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#8 ·
I took a two-day defensive shotgun course from Advanced Weapons and Tacics in Richmond California.

http://www.awt-co.com/Defensive%20Shotgun.htm

Walt Marshall is both an experienced instructor and also a veteran (retired) Richmond police officer. He knows what he's talking about, and you will get plenty of practical knowledge and practice in his class.

BTW--This is probably obvious to everyone but me, but don't even *think* of taking such a class without bringing only LOW RECOIL buckshot. You will shoot a lot in this course. If you intend to use some other load later, that's fine; take some to the range after you finish the class, and find out how well it works in your gun. But for the exercises in the class, use something easier on your shoulder. Bring some birdshot just in case you make too many painful mistakes to continue with buckshot. For slugs you'll just have to tough it out. :)
 
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#9 ·
JDWiley said:
I had the opportunity to attend the Defensive Shotgun course at Thunder Ranch outside of San Antonio, TX. Thunder has a very nice set of facilities, and the quality of the instruction is quite good. The course was three days in duration, of which 1/2 day was lecture and 2.5 days range work, and wasn't cheap at $600. Clint Smith did the lecture portion, and four of his instructors ran the outdoor sessions. Of the instructor group (all very experienced), one was a pompous sort and the other three were REALLY good. This class is geared to the relatively inexperienced shotgunner, with lots of time spent on patterning, shell types & performance, form, shooting positions, etc. Good data, but if you've got lots of time in the saddle with scatterguns and/or defensive arms, about half of the class is going to be spent rehashing familiar ground. Round count for the entire course is estimated to be 525rds, but our usage was considerably lower, which left us the problem of surplus ammo we couldn't take on the plane. Overall, I give TR high marks, but this particular couse gets about a 7.0 rating from me. If TR ran an Advanced Shotgun course, that would have been the better choice for my buddies and I.
you should have just mailed the balance of the ammo to yourself
 
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#10 ·
I would also recommend Blackwater Training Center in NC for high speed, low drag training.
(See them at www.blackwaterusa.com)
Run by former military specialists, they train military, police, and civilians. Their instructors have a deep knowledge and years of application in their field of expertise. Dynamite for practical application skills!
They are good at what they do . . . very good.
 
#11 ·
I took the 2 Day Defensive Shotgun course offered at the SigArms Academy in Epping New Hampshire. The course was taught by Ben Kurata. Super instructor, great facility. Also, Sig doesn't make tactical shotguns (although they partner with a manfacturere of beautiful Italian over-and-unders), so they were agnostic about your choice of weapon. One thing to be aware of is that one of the days you will go through close to 200 rounds of buck shot which can be tough on the shoulder.
 
#13 ·
The Sigarms course is a two-day, sixteen hour offering. It is all outdoors at the sig facility in epping, new hampshire. Sig has a great indoor facility as well, but they use only lead-free frangible pistol ammo indoors. Basically, you can experience three seasons in one day, so dress accordingly.

Topics covered include administrative load/unloading, tacitical loading/unloading, basic stance and technique, shooting while moving, malfunction drills and transitioning to the pistol. Also includes a fairly extensive discussion of various equipment options. They have some loaner weapons in case your shotgun experiences a catastrophic failure, and, of course, they are happy to outfit you with sig pistols for the duration of the class
 
#14 ·
Jeff,

Thanks a bunch for the info. I have been to Sig before and I should have relayed this fact earlier (I was the guest poster). I just wanted to know about the course particulars. The course description on the website did not mention pistols. I infer from your reference to them that there is some pistol work involved also, yes?
Lastly, slings: were they really necessary? and which ones seemed to work the best?

thanks....
 
#15 ·
Jeff,

Thanks a bunch for the info. I have been to Sig before and I should have relayed this fact earlier (I was the guest poster). I just wanted to know about the course particulars. The course description on the website did not mention pistols. I infer from your reference to them that there is some pistol work involved also, yes?
Lastly, slings: were they really necessary? and which ones seemed to work the best?

thanks....
 
#16 ·
Hi -

There is some work with the pistol. Basically shotgun to pistol transition drills. Also if your shotgun suffers a stopage you can't immediatly fix, you're expected to transition to the pistol.

Sig, like most schools, requires slings on the shotgun for practical/safety reasons as well as tactical usefulness. No instructor would step in front of the line when a student has a pistol unholstered...likewise the instructor doesn't want anyone handling their shotguns while they are instructing. However, a simple strap sling would be fine for this purpose. For tactical use, the choice is basically between a three point sling and a single point sling that attaches between the receiver and stock. The three point sling seems to hold the weapon tighter to the body, but the single point sling lets you mount to either shoulder with equal ease. I started with a three point, but have since converted to a single point.

BTW, Sig has recently appointed a new director at the academy. I'd be interested to know how you like the class.
 
#17 ·
The Outer Banks Gun Club in North Carolina offers a concealed firearms course every month. It leads to a permit to carry a concealed handgun. It is an all day course with morning classroom instruction and afternoon range firing. We also run a defensive shotgun course once each summer.
 
#18 ·
Greetings

I live in Sun City West, Arizona (36 mi NW of PHoenix).

I want to find an instructor or school within 50 miles of my home that conducts a defensive shotgun course.

Any recommendations?

Thank you
 
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#19 ·
I have taken both the 2-day and 4-day Tactical Shotgun courses at Front Sight in Pahrump, NV. Both courses were great.
I have taken the NRA's LE Tactical Shotgun Instructors 44 Hr. course also, but Front Sight's was better.
We even did Hostage rescue shots with 00 buckshot.
The NRA's course was more general showing you a lot of different techniques. You did not have time to become proficient at any.
Both were good but I would go to Front Sight again.
 
#22 ·
shepsan said:
Greetings

I live in Sun City West, Arizona (36 mi NW of PHoenix).

I want to find an instructor or school within 50 miles of my home that conducts a defensive shotgun course.

Any recommendations?

Thank you
Gunsite just outside of Phoenix.
 
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