Any worth-while training in SEPA this winter/spring??

[Kb! Bob]

With X-mas coming up hopefully my wife will be OK with me taking some more training in the upcoming months, but I can't find anything in the intermediate/advanced handgun category wthin a reasonable distance of South East PA. The time will come to travel, but not ths year. I'd rather not get a hotel if possible.

I have taken a couple of terrible courses and they are unholy wastes of my time and money. Conversly, I have taken classes (InSights General Defensive Rifle being the best example) that have been worth 2x the price in quality instruction.

If anyone can vouche for a program/instructor that might fit the bill please let me know. Thanks!

-Bob

[dgg9]

With X-mas coming up hopefully my wife will be OK with me taking some more training in the upcoming months, but I can't find anything in the intermediate/advanced handgun category wthin a reasonable distance of South East PA. The time will come to travel, but not ths year. I'd rather not get a hotel if possible.

There are some regional instructors who list advanced pistol courses, but I can't vouch one way or another.

If Harrisburg is within your no-hotel radius, then you know about Insights. They have advanced pistol classes.

Tom Givens often gets to that same Harrisburg range, and in fact brings an advanced pistol class typically. I can vouch for him:

http://www.rangemaster.com/

Jeff Gonzales brings Combative Pistol 1 (not a beginner's class, and I can also vouch) to DE sometimes in April or May (not sure about 2011):

http://www.tridentconcepts.com/TrainingSchedule.aspx

My approach is to bookmark everyone who has ever had a class in PA, and check regularly. You never know who will or won't be here each year.

[Kb! Bob]

Thanks for the info, those are some great suggestions. When I went to InSights I did gt a hotel. Could it be done without? Probably. But for $69/night it wasnt a big deal. That GDR class was AMAZING. John Holschen is, IMHO, a world class instructor in the same tier as Vickers. He had 4 asst. instructors with him who were all excellent. Not to mention the student/instructor ratio was 2/1. I check their website often and would take another course in a heartbeat, but nothing is listed as of yet.

There are some regional instructors who list advanced pistol courses, but I can't vouch one way or another.

If Harrisburg is within your no-hotel radius, then you know about Insights. They have advanced pistol classes.

Tom Givens often gets to that same Harrisburg range, and in fact brings an advanced pistol class typically. I can vouch for him:

http://www.rangemaster.com/

Jeff Gonzales brings Combative Pistol 1 (not a beginner's class, and I can also vouch) to DE sometimes in April or May (not sure about 2011):

http://www.tridentconcepts.com/TrainingSchedule.aspx

My approach is to bookmark everyone who has ever had a class in PA, and check regularly. You never know who will or won't be here each year.

[FNG19]

I have taken a couple of terrible courses and they are unholy wastes of my time and money.

Which ones, if you don't mind divulging?

[dgg9]

Thanks for the info, those are some great suggestions. When I went to InSights I did gt a hotel. Could it be done without? Probably. But for $69/night it wasnt a big deal. That GDR class was AMAZING. John Holschen is, IMHO, a world class instructor in the same tier as Vickers. He had 4 asst. instructors with him who were all excellent. Not to mention the student/instructor ratio was 2/1. I check their website often and would take another course in a heartbeat, but nothing is listed as of yet.

Yeah, Insights is always tardy with their yearly schedule. Harrisburg is outside my no-hotel radius as well. Strictly speaking, except for that CP1 class in DE every other year, there's very little in the way of drivable world class instruction near here. You will see John Farnam every so often, but generally at really small indoor facilities, like the 3rd shooting bay at Classic Pistol, which implies a lot of sequential shifts hence a lot of waiting to shoot.

[Kb! Bob]

Yeah, Insights is always tardy with their yearly schedule. Harrisburg is outside my no-hotel radius as well. Strictly speaking, except for that CP1 class in DE every other year, there's very little in the way of drivable world class instruction near here. You will see John Farnam every so often, but generally at really small indoor facilities, like the 3rd shooting bay at Classic Pistol, which implies a lot of sequential shifts hence a lot of waiting to shoot.

Haha, yea InSights was tardy with pretty much everything in my exerience, to the point that I was a little worried about their professionalism. It was, however, outstanding, and reminded me that they are a shooting school not a PR machine.

I drove out the first day to LSSA and it was early. Two days of that would have been counter-productive, espeially given how physical the class was. Lancaster would be doable, as would Delaware, Hellertown, Langhorne, etc. I hear you about the "waiting around" at indoor ranges. Its not a very effective environement IMO.

[Kb! Bob]

Which ones, if you don't mind divulging?

PM on the way.

[dgg9]

For all these reasons, and also the cost reason, I've been taking one day classes from the regional guys within a drivable radius. If the curriculum is basic, you can get a solid training day out of it. The one-day time frame makes getting a hotel less important. You have to pick your spots: I'm much less accomplished in rifle than pistol, so for me any good rifle instructor can provide me with a valuable training experience.

And the cost of the regional training is less: more like $125 a day than the $200 a day you see from the name guys. Low tuition + less gas + no hotel + pack your own food = affordable training experience.

I've taken 2 one-day events (both very good) from:

http://bhtcorps.com/index.html


I will probably eventually try:

http://directactiontactical.com/

http://www.argivedefense.com/

http://www.moderncombativesystems.com/

[dgg9]

IMO, these regional one day classes serve a definite purpose.

On the one hand, you have the uber-events where, for example, you drive down to NC, rent rooms, take a 3 day LAV course and learn a huge amount.

In between that, you have your personal range days where you practice. But there's a lot of movement-related stuff you can't really practice at the range. And those uber-events are not something most people can afford the time and money to do a couple times a year.

So having one-day events, cheap and nearby, interspersed between the more infrequent top-shelf trainer events is a way to get instructors' eyes on what you're doing and a chance to do more dynamic shooting, more frequently than what your local range usually affords.

[Kb! Bob]

For all these reasons, and also the cost reason, I've been taking one day classes from the regional guys within a drivable radius. If the curriculum is basic, you can get a solid training day out of it. The one-day time frame makes getting a hotel less important. You have to pick your spots: I'm much less accomplished in rifle than pistol, so for me any good rifle instructor can provide me with a valuable training experience.

And the cost of the regional training is less: more like $125 a day than the $200 a day you see from the name guys. Low tuition + less gas + no hotel + pack your own food = affordable training experience.

I've taken 2 one-day events (both very good) from:

http://bhtcorps.com/index.html


I will probably eventually try:

http://directactiontactical.com/

http://www.argivedefense.com/

http://www.moderncombativesystems.com/

IMO, these regional one day classes serve a definite purpose.

On the one hand, you have the uber-events where, for example, you drive down to NC, rent rooms, take a 3 day LAV course and learn a huge amount.

In between that, you have your personal range days where you practice. But there's a lot of movement-related stuff you can't really practice at the range. And those uber-events are not something most people can afford the time and money to do a couple times a year.

So having one-day events, cheap and nearby, interspersed between the more infrequent top-shelf trainer events is a way to get instructors' eyes on what you're doing and a chance to do more dynamic shooting, more frequently than what your local range usually affords.

Good stuff and great reasoning. These are all outfits I have heard good first-hand accounts of and look forward to training with. Great point about the one day classes, much easier to talk my wife into!