I live in Louisville, KY and would love to know which courses your friends took (and where). Thanks.

Not Bob, but:

While not exactly shotgun-related, I know Tactical Response is running their "Fighting Pisto1" class in Seymour, IN (about an hour North of you on 65) this spring. Followups include "Advanced Fighting Pisto1" and "The Fight - Force on Force Scenarios". The latter should be required of anyone with a CCW.

This great selection of classes is taught indoors and has been adapted for that environment and is the finest training of any kind available any place in the US.

This is Caswells Indoor Range in Mesa AZ
See www.Caswells.com.
One thing that is important for all and it was addressed in one of the earlier posts, is the need for basic or beginning courses for safety and firearm familiarization and this organization has the best of the basic courses.
They also have advanced pistol, rifle and shotgun courses and low light familiarization as well.
They were the first in AZ to be certified to teach the Az. CCW courses and have haad more graduates from this program than any other organization in the state.

Their courses include a lot work with barricades or "cover' and anyone who has been to any of the better courses mentioned, as have I, know the value of cover and concealment.

I have attended many classes at Gunsite, Thunder Ranch, Louie Awerback, Maas Ayoob and several others and can tell you for the money if you are ever in the area or want to try a new course and do it indoors, you will not be disappointed and in fact will be glad you participated at Caswells.

Their instructors are among the finest and most experienced instructors in the entire Southwest. These guys and gals have been doing it for a long time and every one of them are extremely articulate and very patient.

You can look at the training program and instructor bios on their web site.

They come highly recommended by local law enforcement and it is not uncommon to see some of the most visable and popular instructors we read about every day, participating in courses being taught there.

One other item is their "womens Personal Protection" course. It is completely unarmed and currently one of the most popular and effective courses being taught any place in the country.
They just finished teaching this course to the entire womens athletic dept. of Arizona State University and have now been contacted to do the same for U of A and NAU as well as the Mens athletic dept of ASU. They have given this course to several of the "homeless womens" organizations around the state for abandoned and battered women and their children as well as the women who work in the shelters.

These people have grreat stuff and are a fun and very talented bunch with a lot of experience to pass on to their students.

UF

I love Front Sight too.... I'm not sure why everyone assumes this place is so expensive. The sticker shock was insane when I first looked but once I started getting thier newsletter I figured out that they always are running some sort of discount. I personally got my lifetime membership for about $1500 and it's not the ground level one either. Lifetime training for not only shotgun but also rifle/handgun/M-16 etc...

If anyone wants to know how to get the same deal contact me and I'll pass on some insider info.

I will be teaching a one-day defensive shotgun course near Fort Worth, Texas on Oct. 4 for those who are interested.

Steve Moses
www.bluffdalefirearmsacademy.com

Hello all. I've been floating around this forum for a little while now and figured I'd finally join up and try to contribute. As far as HD goes, feel free to check out my youtube channel for some simple, easy to apply techniques. I'll be updating it as often as I get time.

Home Defense: "Back Lighting"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0nBgGx4utk

Hope this helps some.

-Justin

I just found a trainer with a good range and a good LE reference. I was wondering what questions to ask, and what responses I should be looking for.

deleted cuz that stuff wuz stole.......sorry

Sorry I missed this.

Q's to ask:

What is the retention rate of students? (i.e. how many come back for more)
Is there any difference between LE/.Mil classes and those for "civillians"? (an emphatic "NO!" is the correct answer)
Do you have a list of alumni that would be willing to talk to me about your classes? ("Here ya go" would be appropriate).

You should be able to get a feel on the outfit based on those three.

I would not hesitate to take instruction from a company that has a high return rate on their students, no difference between classes for civil servants and regular folks, and is happy to provide alumni testimonials.

Bearridge, as good as that video is (I've uploaded some small clips from the sme video) it's a bit dated. If you want professional instruction, taking a class is best.

I noticed some of it seemed kinda old, but that wuz jest put on youtube last September.....which dont really mean it aint old stuff. Wonder why somebody put up somethin' old jest a few months ago?

The video was done sometime in the late 80's or early 90's, I believe, and it got uploaded because it's one of the few titles available that 1) deal with the employment of tactical shotguns and 2) it is now available via Torrent download (i.e. illegal ripping), and 3) While tactical training doctrine has advanced light years ahead of a lot of things on the video, the fundementals of shooting and not getting shot stay relatively static.

Again, I uploaded small snippets (because #2 is a crappy thing to do) a year or so ago. The sections I uploaded were specifically those that deal with topics that have come up in conversation here at SGW (sling use, what the "fatal funnel" is, how to tac-load an SG).

Video instruction is good. Face to face instruction with bleeding-edge lessons from the sandbox, professional feedback to correct your mistakes, and a group of students to learn from and teach each other is better.

I have a maverick 88 with 28" barrel..
would getting a mossberg 500 18.5" barrel be good for HD? Or should I look for a 20"?

I'm new to HD.

Thanks.

M.S.

Either will do if you will.

Anyone taken a course from http://www.combatshootingandtactics.com/?

Looks close to my location, and has courses way advanced past my needs, too...

CSAT is run by MSG Paul Howe.

Ever see "BlackHawk Down"? He was one of the Delta guys in Mogadishu in 93, and went on to run the LE training division of Triple Canopy before leaving to run CSAT.

Take whatever training you can get from him. He's definately one of those guys that's on the short list of world-class firearms instructors.

Thanks, FMD. I'll be taking a beginner course from them (at least for starters...).

I'm new to SGs and and am new to this site. Am in the process of getting a Remington 870 tactical or an 1100 Tac-2 or Tax-4. Not sure yet, got to watch the cost in order to buy ammo, and cleaning materials. Does anyone now of a school in the SC area? Thanks.

Glad to see someone's first post be about training instead of gear. Welcome!

The closest outfit to you that I'd look at is probably Defensive Concepts in North Carolina (Charlotte area). While I haven't trained with their instructors (as far as I know), they are alumni of some of the same schools that I am. Pretty sure that one of the guys goes by the handle NCPatrolAR on some of the other boards.

Thanks.

Any in South Central NJ?