Experiences with tactical training?

[New Oregonian]

Hello Everyone,
I've been thinking lately about the different gun training courses in the area from the basic Pistol classes to the tactical pistol and Carbine classes as well as their counterparts around the US and was wondering if any of you have been apart of any of these kind of classes/courses (thunder ranch,etc?) or any other tactical training. I am not in a financial position to go to one of the awsome multiple day classes in the near future, but would be very interested to hear what they are like. Thanks.

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[emanon]

First things first: Hello and Welcome to NWFA!

As to your question: There is at least one thread on this subject already, I'll look for the link and post in later if I remember. I have trained at 3 nationally known schools and also received instruction from 3 independent trainers. Long story short, such training does tend to be pricey but it is well worth getting as much as you can afford. If your interest in firearms includes their defensive/tactical use then you owe it to yourself and those that you love to make the investment in training.

If ever forced to defend myself with a firearm then I'd much rather have a "just ok" gun and great training under my belt then some great gun collection but no real experience or skills in how to put them to proper use!

We have several highly regarded schools and independent instructors here in the NW plus traveling trainers that come through from time to time. Instructors here on the forum include OFADan from the Oregon Firearms Academy and Wichaka. I took a class that Wichaka was kind enough to put on at no charge and would love to do so again. I have not yet visited OFA but certainly would like to. I have not heard anything negative about them and they seem to offer very good training at a competitive price.

There are also some great books, videos and online resources available for little or no real cost to you that are worth studying. These are not at all a substitute for training but can greatly help enhance and reinforce what you'll learn from a professional school/instructor. Plus they are a whole lot better then nothing!

Fair warning, there are a lot of divergent opinions on these matters that you will encounter even from well-educated and highly experienced people. No one knows everything or has all the right answers. What works well for one person may work poorly for you. Do your own research, make up your own mind and never stop learning!

I hope this helps.

 

[New Oregonian]

Thanks a lot that was very helpful/informative. Let me know about that other thread. I was looking for one and didn't see one so I started this one. What do you think the best class or instructor would be for a fairly new pistol owner? (I'm near Eugene)

 

[emanon]

Here: http://www.northwestfirearms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=704
I like this one too: http://www.northwestfirearms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8685

Considering your location, how about giving OFA a try for your pistol class? Here's a link for you: http://www.oregonfirearmsacademy.com/handgun.htm

 

[wichaka]

I have had the good fortune to have trained with many of the national level instructors such as Clint Smith, John Farnham, Todd Jarrett, Louis Awerbuck, Jeff Cooper, Mas Ayoob, Brian Hoffner, Mike Lahner, Bank Miller, to name a few...all on their dime, have also been at Oregon Firearms Academy, Firearm Academy of Seattle, have not been to Insights...but from trusted sources, they are very good as well.

As for Oregon Firearms Academy, I was invited to train there this past February and posted an article on here...here's the link;

http://www.northwestfirearms.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5002


In training with the above instructors, I must admit that one will not get a second class experience should you choose OFA, FAofS, or Insights.

One must understand that there is no one class or instructor that will get you "there" of what level you want to be with your training.

These classes are there to give you tools for your box, so when you leave you will have solid proven things to work on, and be able to hone those skills over time.

If you spend close to a 1,000.00 on a class from Clint Smith, then fail to practice what was taught...you just wasted a lot of money. You will lose your firearms skills rapidly if you don't keep up on them.

50 quality rounds a month, with lots of dry fire and manipulation skills in between, will get you farther in your overall training than plinking or blasting 200+ rounds every once in awhile.

Every round you fire is training, every pull of the trigger and manipulation skill done correctly is instilling something in your shooting mind.

Every round you fire either by yourself or with friends, should be done for training purposes only. If you allow yourself to slip to blasting away...your skills will diminish rapidly.

With price and scarcity of ammo these days, one must get the best bang for their training dollar.

 

[New Oregonian]

Thanks emanon and wichaka! those are helpful links.

 

[wayoutwest]

Hello Everyone,
I've been thinking lately about the different gun training courses in the area from the basic Pistol classes to the tactical pistol and Carbine classes as well as their counterparts around the US and was wondering if any of you have been apart of any of these kind of classes/courses (thunder ranch,etc?) or any other tactical training. I am not in a financial position to go to one of the awsome multiple day classes in the near future, but would be very interested to hear what they are like. Thanks.

Great that you brought this up, I have been meaning reading alot of the different classes out there and reading others AARs from their classes....I am giving OFA a call today to get into a class....got to start sometime

thanks