This course was closed due to full enrollment. We have now discovered someone got counted twice, and there is a slot open.

This course has sufficient enrollment, and will go.

The instructor is Giles Stock. If you never heard of him, Google him.

A full course description is set forth below. Note: this is the only available slot for this course.

Peter Georgiades---------------------------

PISTOL & REVOLVER TRAINING COURSE
Saturday May 22- Mon. May 24

This course is designed for people who wish to take a full course of formal instruction on the deployment of hand guns for personal defense, starting from the “ground up.” It is also very useful to those who have been previously trained, and want to "brush up." It will be held at the Pitcairn-Monroeville Sportsman’s Club, 25 min. East of Pittsburgh. Topics to be covered include:

1) Gun Handling and Presentation. Weapons checks; proper presentation from holsters; “eyes off” manipulation and handling of pistols, including clearance of jams and stoppages; correct stance; sight picture and marksmanship techniques appropriate to defensive (as opposed to sport or target) shooting.

2) Basic firing positions. Including introduction to tactical employment of them.

3) Mind set and the psychology of armed combat.

4) Characteristics, tactical advantages and limitations of pistol ammunition. Includes research data on external ballistics and wound ballistics, a review of currently available ammunition and comparison of hand gun cartridges to rifle and shotgun ammunition.

5) Introduction to low-light techniques. .

6) A review of current Pa. law on the use of deadly force and concealed carry. (By a licensed attorney.)

Cost: $395. This includes range fees, targets, range supplies and handouts. Students to provide their own ammunition, personal gear and meals. (Members of the host club - PMSC - receive a $25.00 discount.)

Course format: Lectures (approximately 5 hrs., mostly on the range), and live-fire exercises (approximately 18 hrs.). Participants will need a minimum of 600 rounds of ammunition. Certificate of completion provided.

Instructor: The instructor will be Giles Stock. Mr. Stock served with the Phoenix, Arizona Police Dept. for 20 years, the last seven of which he was a sergeant and the training supervisor for their SWAT unit. He was responsible for certification of all public firing ranges in Phoenix (under police auspices). Mr. Stock has instructed at the Gunsite Training Center since 1981, where he is a Rangemaster for pistol, rifle, carbine, sub-gun and shotgun. He is a Simunitions certified instructor and a Surefire certified Low Light Instructor trainer. A 3-time winner of the “Police Olympics” in revolver, and now retired from the police department, he works full-time as a weapons instructor and product development consultant in the firearms industry. Range assistance will be provided by NRA certified instructors.

Class size: Enrollment limited to 12 students.

Prerequisites: You must be at least 18 years old. Proof of no criminal history is required. (Criminal history procedures are outlined in the enrollment materials.)

For Course Details, Directions, Equipment Requirements and Enrollment Materials visit www.fireinstitute.org or call: (412) 381-8035 if you have any specific questions.

Equipment Requirements

The following equipment is REQUIRED, or you cannot participate in this course:

• Ear protection and eye protection. Eye protection must be clear for the night session.
• Hat or cap with baseball-style bill. This is to keep ejected brass from your pistol or elsewhere on the firing line from falling between your eyewear and your eye, burning you. This is important.
• 600 rounds of ammunition. No tracer, incendiary or frangible rounds.
• Three magazines (Two speed-loaders with carrying pouch for revolvers).
• Holster. This should be a substantial holster which attaches firmly to a belt, holds the pistol firmly in place, and covers the trigger and trigger guard of the firearm while holstered. The holster must permit you to get a firm grip on the weapon with your strong-side hand without removing the weapon from the holster, such that it is not necessary to adjust your grip after drawing the pistol from the holster. Holsters with flaps that cover the weapon or straps which retain the weapon are not appropriate unless the flap or strap can be removed (police duty gear is an exception). Hand guns may not be carried anywhere except in a proper holster (no "pocket pistols," "back-up guns" in ankle holsters or the like.)
• Holster/carrier for extra magazine or speed-loaders.
• A flashlight, equipped to either remain on constantly or be operated by a pressure-switch that turns the light on when the button is depressed and shuts off when the button is released. Extra batteries and a back-up light are recommended. We do not recommend you spend money on a good tactical light before the course, unless you are already well enough informed to know what is useful and what is not. Take the course with what you have, learn what is useful, and then make more informed purchases.

Weapons must be .38 caliber/9 mm., or larger. Hand guns in .22, .25, .32, .380, 7.62 x 19 and similar light calibers are generally ineffective in stopping a gun fight, and are of insufficient power even to complete some course exercises. Such sub-caliber weapons are not permitted in our courses.

Pistols should be serviceable as duty weapons or practical for concealed carry. Single action revolvers and derringers are impractical for this course. Your pistol or revolver may get dirty or be dropped on the ground, so please do not bring any valuable antiques or show-guns. Pistols outfitted with scopes, red-dot sights, extended magazines, compensators which extend the barrel and similar “race-gun” doo-dads are impractical and detract from students’ course experience, and therefore are not recommended.

The following equipment is RECOMMENDED. Although you may proceed in the course without these things, experience has shown they will enhance your experience:

• Soft drinks or water to drink while on the range. No alcohol of any kind is to be consumed within eight hours of the commencement of any course session.
• Second firearm. A second firearm of the type you intend to train with is also a good idea, if you own or can borrow a second one. Firearms do break, and we cannot stop the course to make repairs. Even if we had time, parts may not be available, and many repairs cannot be accomplished in the field.
• Camera.
• Gloves (either shooting gloves or light work gloves).


“Buying a gun and thinking you are armed is like buying a piano and thinking you are a musician”
--- LTC Jeff Cooper (USMC, Ret.)