Poll: RIP Oregon Firearms Academy

[HuckleberryFun]

Yesterday (18 SEP 2016) I attended the very last Defensive Handgun 1 course offered by OFA down in rural Linn County, OR near Brownsville. I don't think it is general knowledge yet, but @OFADAN informed us at the end of class that Oregon Firearms Academy is going out of business after 20 years. No more courses will be offered after DEC 2016, although the range will remain intact and some of the instructors will still offer training, just not under OFA auspices. A lot of people have trained there over the years, and will be sad to hear this, I'm sure.

Reasons given were that they all had other obligations, some have young families, and that it was time to move on to other things after so many years of instructing. Please, @OFADAN correct or add to that if you like. I took two classes with them, and was looking forward to more, but their classes were always full and booked out months in advance. There was a reason for that. They are highly professional people, and OFA is/was considered pretty much THE place to go in these parts for high quality firearms instruction. Guys, you will be missed...

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[etrain16]

Well that's just not good news for those of us that have trained and had hoped to continue to train with them. I guess we'll have to see how things go after the first of the year.

Hard to see a good training school shut down

 

[Koda]

dissapointing news, hopefully I can work out advanced training with their instructors independantly.
We need an OFA quality training operation and program within reach of Portland though...

 

[DeanfromOregon]

I took everyone I shoot with down there. Friends and family both. Now we have a common foundation of of knowledge which makes every outing safer and more fun.

Adding new people to the group is also easier because its not just me laying out the protocol for the range, it's the whole family.

Dan and Rick and the guys are absolutely fantastic and I wish them all well in their future of available weekends!

 

[BroncoFan]

Dano say it ain't so!?!

I took all the DH classes, Carbines, Instructor Development Course...dang!

 

[OFADAN]

Well the news is indeed true. After 20 years as Oregon Firearms Academy, LLC (OFA) we are officially closing down the business after our Handgun Low Light/Night Fire course in Nov. The range will remain exactly as it is with all the really cool electronic targeting systems and No Name City (our sim village). The classroom will be converted into a game room for informal student discussions so when we do have private groups or individuals.

It is bittersweet as the team we've built is solid and our instructor cadre has been with us for a really long time. We vetted our staff and were very particular about who we brought on board. And it took years for them to progress up to senior instructor status. Yes, years! We had an impeccable safety record = zero firearm related incidents! And OFA was one of less than 30 ranges listed as a 4 Star Range by the NSSF, which is no easy feat I may state. OFA as a business was nominated at the SHOT Show as one of three Ranges of the Year in 2006 (I think it was '06?)

We drew students from all over the US and some of our students included individuals from very elite organizations and agencies. In fact, a US Flag was presented to us by a student who is a Spec Ops warrior that accompanied a Delta Team on a direct action mission in Iraq. We had active service members from every branch of the service train with us. A little known fact is when the Gulf War II started up we provided free training to servicemen/women's spouses who had to stay behind.

Now for the reason why; why are we shutting down when classes are full for 6-8 months in advance? Huck summed it up already: it is time for us to move on. Most of our staff have other things going on in their lives: grandkids, kids in programs, family commitments, work etc.

Moving forward Rick and I will be delivering training at another organization which will keep us both very busy. I plan on doing some private tuitorals and small groups. One of my strengths is in Instructor Development. I've devoted a substantial amount of my life to this area and may offer some Instructor Development courses next year. It is desperately needed! Who knows!?

The other guys including our most senior staff will likely continue providing training individually and in small groups at the former OFA range or elsewhere. I will either join them if invited (hint, hint, hint) and/or will be provding the same services at the former OFA range and elsewhere.

In the mean time you can reach me at [email protected] as the [email protected] will disappear the first of November.

Thank you for your support and encouragement over the years. And thank you to those of you who joined us in classes and we learned and laughed together. Blessings to all! I'll still be on here as I'm not going away!

Dan

 

[etrain16]

Well the news is indeed true. After 20 years as Oregon Firearms Academy, LLC (OFA) we are officially closing down the business after our Handgun Low Light/Night Fire course in Nov. The range will remain exactly as it is with all the really cool electronic targeting systems and No Name City (our sim village). The classroom will be converted into a game room for informal student discussions so when we do have private groups or individuals.

It is bittersweet as the team we've built is solid and our instructor cadre has been with us for a really long time. We vetted our staff and were very particular about who we brought on board. And it took years for them to progress up to senior instructor status. Yes, years! We had an impeccable safety record = zero firearm related incidents! And OFA was one of less than 30 ranges listed as a 4 Star Range by the NSSF, which is no easy feat I may state. OFA as a business was nominated at the SHOT Show as one of three Ranges of the Year in 2006 (I think it was '06?)

We drew students from all over the US and some of our students included individuals from very elite organizations and agencies. In fact, a US Flag was presented to us by a student who is a Spec Ops warrior that accompanied a Delta Team on a direct action mission in Iraq. We had active service members from every branch of the service train with us. A little known fact is when the Gulf War II started up we provided free training to servicemen/women's spouses who had to stay behind.

Now for the reason why; why are we shutting down when classes are full for 6-8 months in advance? Huck summed it up already: it is time for us to move on. Most of our staff have other things going on in their lives: grandkids, kids in programs, family commitments, work etc.

Moving forward Rick and I will be delivering training at another organization which will keep us both very busy. I plan on doing some private tuitorals and small groups. One of my strengths is in Instructor Development. I've devoted a substantial amount of my life to this area and may offer some Instructor Development courses next year. It is desperately needed! Who knows!?

The other guys including our most senior staff will likely continue providing training individually and in small groups at the former OFA range or elsewhere. I will either join them if invited (hint, hint, hint) and/or will be provding the same services at the former OFA range and elsewhere.

In the mean time you can reach me at [email protected] as the [email protected] will disappear the first of November.

Thank you for your support and encouragement over the years. And thank you to those of you who joined us in classes and we learned and laughed together. Blessings to all! I'll still be on here as I'm not going away!

Dan

Thanks for the update Dan. I am sorry to see the change, but fully understand how things change over time.

So will we be checking in and reaching out to you folks on the OFA website? Or will that go down as well? If so, will email be the only way to check in on potential training?

 

[OFADAN]

Thanks for the update Dan. I am sorry to see the change, but fully understand how things change over time.

So will we be checking in and reaching out to you folks on the OFA website? Or will that go down as well? If so, will email be the only way to check in on potential training?

Thanks etrain16! The OFA website will remain in its current status until sometime later this year. You can always contact me at the [email protected] address. As I've done in the past, I will try to address questions I'm qualified to answer but don't expect me (as some have attempted to do in the past) to provide free training via 121 questions by email. I don't mind answering questions without compensation so don't misunderstand but sometimes it boarders on the ludicrous.

Otherwise, the website will be redirected to a page that says you can contact us only at the new email address of -

[email protected]

 

[wayoutwest]

WOW, well thats too bad. Although I understand everyone has commitments. I can say that I am very glad I had the opportunity to train out there, multiple times, and I have always spoken highly of Oregon Firearms Academy. I wish you all the best.

Thanks Chris

 

[MikeE]

Really sad to hear this because I learned so much there! Best of luck to all.

 

[DizzyJ]

That sucks. I've often thought about training with them.

We do have training groups come to DRRC on occasion though.

 

[HuckleberryFun]

That sucks. I've often thought about training with them.

We do have training groups come to DRRC on occasion though.

@OFADAN told me that he and some of the other trainers will be willing to come up to DRRC and hold classes/training if a group of interested members are willing to sign up.

 

[etrain16]

@OFADAN told me that he and some of the other trainers will be willing to come up to DRRC and hold classes/training if a group of interested members are willing to sign up.

That would be nice. Depending on the timing and whether or not I could do it - DRRC is my home range, so it would be great to train there. Seems the dynamic range would be well suited to their classes.

 

[DizzyJ]

Yes, the dynamic range is where most of the training is done.

 

[DizzyJ]

@OFADAN told me that he and some of the other trainers will be willing to come up to DRRC and hold classes/training if a group of interested members are willing to sign up.

That would be cool.

 

[saxon]

i know I am late for the going away party but after getting some life stuff fixed I was looking forward to doing some more training but now ..... I always recommended OFA for people to get real training

 

[DizzyJ]

i know I am late for the going away party but after getting some life stuff fixed I was looking forward to doing some more training but now ..... I always recommended OFA for people to get real training

Northern Red comes to the Northwest every fall. Usually in September.

All green beret, and most of them ex Delta.