Tom Givens - Two Day Dynamic Marksmanship Course at West Shore Sportmen's Assoc

[BullfrogKen]

Tom Givens - Two Day Dynamic Marksmanship Course at West Shore Sportmen's Association

All,

Attached is a copy from the flyer Tom sent me for his 2 day Dynamic Marksmanship Course. He has his home facility in Memphis, but travels up to Pennsylvania once a year to offer it at the club I serve as President. His web presence is www.rangemaster.com.

Dates are March 29-30, 2008.
Location is West Shore Sportsmen's Association, Lewisberry, PA. We're about 15 minutes south of Harrisburg, with easy access to both I-83 and the PA Turnpike (I-76). Plenty of nice hotels nearby, and a local resturaunt that delivers pizza and sandwiches to the club.

This is an intensive weekend course that covers all of the essential skills involved in fighting with a handgun. There is an all day session Saturday and Sunday, plus an evening session on Saturday.

Topics covered in this course will include:

• Rapid presentation from concealed carry
• Effective gunhandling techniques, designed to work under stress
• Rapid reloading techniques
• Effective movement skills
• Disability drills, including drawing and reloading with one hand
• Precision shooting at mid-range
• Effective scanning techniques, locating additional threats
• Low light firing techniques, both with/without a flashlight
• Proper defensive mindset and more. Expect to fire about 800-1,000 rounds of ammunition.

You will need a good handgun, holster, belt, and magazine pouch, at least three magazines, a ball cap and concealment garment (vest, jacket, windbreaker, etc), eye and ear protection, and rain gear (we train rain or shine). A cooler with soft drinks and snacks is a very good idea. We will have access to an indoor range in case of bad weather.

You will need a quality handgun and gear. It is a good idea to bring a second gun just like your primary, in case something breaks on your primary gun. Please bring good quality ammunition. You will shoot better, your gun will function better, and you will learn faster.

Your primary instructor will be Tom Givens, of Rangemaster. He will be assisted by other Rangemaster staff.


Tuition is $400.00. Call 901-370-5600 to enroll by credit card or mail check to Rangemaster, 2611 S. Mendenhall, Memphis, Tn, 38115.
A deposit of $100.00 will hold a space, balance due 15 days before class.

Tom's a great guy. He's a valued friend of the NTI Team (National Tactical Invitational), attending the annual NTI event for several years now both as a Practitioner, and delivering lecture topics in the seminars. WSSA has been the home of the NTI for 18 years, with the exception of the mid 90's when we held it at Gunsite for 3 years. Many of the NTI Team Members have taken Tom's classes, and I'll probably arrange my own schedule to take this one.


If I find I can't make the class, I'll still stop out and during a break give anyone not a WSSA member a tour of the property, as I live less than 2 miles from the club. You'll get a chance to train with a master instructor and his great team of assistants. You'll also get a chance to see our facilities. WSSA has 2 shoothouses the Team built on the property, and numerous pistol pits. WSSA is not your standard shooting facility - concrete block buildings with lanes. We operate hot ranges, allow full range of movement, including 360 checks in our 360 pit.


If you're local, reserve the weekend to spend with Tom. You'll learn great skills and be challenged to improve. I can attest to the morality and the ethics of his program. He doesn't beat his chest, or create an atmosphere where we must all become deadly operators to be successful in a fight. It's about learning the basic fundamentals we need, taught by good instruction, to give you what you need to know to continue and hone the study on your own.

If you want to come in from outside driving distance, HIA (Harrisburg International Airport) is located just across the Susquehanna River, about 25 minutes away along the Turnpike.


I'd love to see you there. Stay Safe.

[dgg9]

Signing up today....(it's not yet up on his website, by the way).

[dgg9]

I'm signed up. If anyone in Philly also signs up, let me know and we can carpool.

[RLS]

I've had training from Tom Givens. He is First Rate. If you can work it into your schedule and budget and are serious about defensive gunfighting, take the class.

Rick

[BullfrogKen]

Just bumping this event up. Give Tom a call and register today if you want to get into this class.


Ken

[dgg9]

I just got a call and the class has been cancelled -- not enough people signed up.

There's not enough quality training in the SE PA area as it is, so frankly this rather disgraceful result will likely make other top-tier trainers maybe reluctant to bother.

[BullfrogKen]

I was afraid that Tom was going to have to cancel. I did the best I could marketing it for him.

Insights Training will be out to WSSA several times times this year. I also understand that for the advanced level classes, John Holschen will be out instructing. If you've never taken a class with John, consider it. If you have taken training under John, then you already know of what I speak. He's widely regarded among our Team as one of the best trainers in the community. And he's a man I enjoy sharing a simple meal with.

Steve Silverman from F-R-I will be offering classes at WSSA as well.

John Farnam gets out to a private range in north central PA once or twice a year. I'm unaware of his specific schedule, but I'm sure you can find out from John when he's heading out to Colby's next.


dgg9, it is unfortunate that we don't have a huge amount of professional training opportunities in the area. But we have enough to keep most happy. The problem most itinerant trainers have is adequate facilities. The farther east one goes, the more urban and populated the communites are. Just finding a range that can facilitate this type of training becomes hard.

If a facility existed that could handle that type of class, and the schedule had time to fit it in, the membership has to be willing to allow dynamic shooting. Many clubs' by-laws simply refuse to allow rapid fire shooting, or drawing from the holster. Those by-laws are a product of the will of the membership. Sadly, we have gun owners who are opposed to some shooting activities for no reasons other than personal.


We'll continue to have professional trainers come out to WSSA simply because of the nature of our membership. The personality of WSSA contains many different facets, but we have a strong contingency that wants to have a place for armed citizens to practice in a realistic environment. The board we have in place now are perhaps the most tolerant of the wide variety of shooting activities Americans enjoy than any place you might visit. And as long as I have any say in the matter, we'll continue to embrace that attitude.

Look into what we do and consider coming out to train with us outside those formal classes.

[TonyF]

I just got a call and the class has been cancelled -- not enough people signed up.

There's not enough quality training in the SE PA area as it is, so frankly this rather disgraceful result will likely make other top-tier trainers maybe reluctant to bother.

I feel your pain.

[dgg9]

Insights Training will be out to WSSA several times times this year.

Yes, I saw they had some very interesting advanced classes on a regular basis. I predict I'll give them a try.

dgg9, it is unfortunate that we don't have a huge amount of professional training opportunities in the area. But we have enough to keep most happy.

My beef was that, with this class, we HAD a top-tier guy slated to come out here, and all the people who don't think twice about dropping $600 for their 11th gun won't pony up that much to train. It's one of my pet peeves, and makes me collectively embarrassed for my area at times like this.

[BullfrogKen]

dgg9 said: the people who don't think twice about dropping $600 for their 11th gun won't pony up that much to train.

Yeah, so . . . what else is new? Its easier to buy a product that we <falsely> think might magically impart the skill and ability to use it to us.

Its much more of an effort to spend a weekend putting ourselves through a class that will impart those skills. It takes time, hard work, and frankly for most its threatening. We've got to leave our egos at the door when we learn, and we run the risk of embarrasing ourselves by revealing some ignorances or lack of ability. Which is why we need the training in the first place . . .


I'll try to e-mail you the latest newsletter.