Formal Handgun Training near Pittsburgh

[Kap1492]

My wife and I have recently purchased handguns and prior to that have taken the NRA basic pistol course. We are interested in taking some personal training to help develop proper techniques and improving accuracy. Any suggestions as to where we can find reasonably priced instruction. I see that A&S in Youngwood offers personal instruction for $30 per half hour. I have been to the facility a couple of times and can't say enough good things about the facility and staff. Does anyone have any experience with A&S personal instruction and what are your thoughts? Looking for options near Pittsburgh and surrounding areas within reasonable travel. Thanks.

[arh31]

Deleted. Accidental post.

[M&P Chris]

Check out http://3riverstraining.com. John Brown a member here is the owner/lead instructor. I would recommend him highly.

[John A Brown]

Thanks for the kind words Chris.

Kap1492,

Please check out my website - www.3riverstraining.com - and please don't hesitate to contact me with any questions.

There are numerous AAR's posted here on PAFOA of recent 3T courses, in addition to quite a few PAFOA members who have attended 3T courses who could offer their input.

John

www.3riverstraining.com

[DaveM55]

Consider training from the FIRE Institute.

They have some great classes and knowledgeable instructors.

The one day class is a good intro.

http://www.fireinstitute.org/

[PeteG]

It sounds as though you would do well with a one-day familiarization course. Then, if you appreciate the process, you can move to a full 3-day course later. This limits your financial committment at the early stages of training. Be advised, one cannot receive a comprehensive introduciton to hand gun skills and mind set on one day, and you should not expect one. But it is a good introduction to the process, and gives you more information with which to decide what your real objectives are and where to go with your training.

There are dozens of these courses available in the Pittsburgh area, many listed in the training course section of this forum. The F.I.R.E. Institute has a one-day coming up on June 9, and another on July 13. Randy Cain will be here giving one of the best three-day Level I hand gun courses in the country on June 15-17.

The One Day Hand Gun courses are only $60 for a full day (which works out to about $7.50 an hour). This is as cheap as it gets for professional quality instruction, and is only possible because our staff is comprised of volunteers. If you are one of those who has no experience with formal training, and are therefore still "price shopping," that should make the choice rather easy.

The three-day course is $500. That is about mid-range for tier 1 instructors giving comprehensive courses. You can look up Randy Cain at www.guntactics.com (I take this course every chance I get; Randy gives more experienced students plenty to work on, and beginners a solid foundation.)

Everyone you get as an RM in a F.I.R.E. Institute course has been teaching at least 10 years. Randy has been teaching 30 years.

We will likely schedule another 3-day, level I course in the fall, but nothing is scheduled at present. It all depends upon interest level and who is available to teach.

[Kap1492]

Thanks guys for the various suggestions. I do realize that firearm proficency does't come over night or from a few hours of instructional training. I hope I did not give that impression in anyway that would cheapen firearm instruction/training. Right now we can only dream of taking a 3 day comprehensive course because we are just getting started and had to purchase two of everything for my wife and I. Starting up is really expensive...lol, considering the firearm, ammo, accessories. Guess nothing is cheap these days. Anyways thanks again for the suggestions.

[Chuck S]

I recommend the FIRE one-day course.

For starters the course will highlight if you made a good choice in buying a handgun. Good chance you didn't.

Don't fret, in my experience most new shooters buy poor or marginal defensive handguns at first and entirely unsatisfactory handguns for their wife . A one day course is a chance to find out many things before you start spending more.

-- Chuck

[Mtbkski]

Took a course off of LSHD. They are north of Pitts. I took an AK course that I thought was very good. They offer pistol classes. And they also offer one on one personal lessons by the hour.

Just to give you all the options available to you. From what I have heard, you can't go wrong with any of the facilities that have been mentioned. All of them get great comments from those that have attended their training classes.

Want to really learn something. Take a class off each of them. Everybody does or says something a little bit differently usually. And it can do nothing but educate you and your wife.

http://www.lowspeed-highdrag.com/

[Mtbkski]

F.I.R.E. Institute worked with us a couple years ago to set up a "couples class". It was actually a way for us to get our betterhalves to training that we knew we could never get them to attend on their own.

Once we all got there, they separated the guys from the girls. And now the women were having a class with just other women in it, and just about all of them ended up really enjoying it. I know my wife did. It was geared to teach pistol basics and really was for the women. The guys shot too (off to the other side of the range. No imput from you. Just the instructors), but the women got most of the attention and it seemed to work really well.

Maybe F.I.R.E. could offer something like this again for the guys out there that can't get the misses to attend formal training by themselves. My wife still talks about going to that class. HINT HINT