What kind of training do you have?

[mercop]

IMHO the vast majority of firearms training concentrates too much on marksmanship and not enough on tactics and firearms handling.

[RandomTask]

LOL!!! I only have a couple questions...

1. What did you shoot at prior to the first empty?

2. Did it take the entire brick to hit all twelve?

LOL... just kidding of course.
I learned at several years of summer camp from the age of 6, and later I was on my high school varsity rifle team.

[BullfrogKen]

I would like to start shooting IDPA . . . but don't really now anything about it. So if any of you West Shore guys read . . . let me know so I can check it out sometime

td,

West Shore Sportsmen's Association in Lewisberry is an IDPA club. You're welcome to stop out and see if its right for you. Practices are on Thursday evenings, matches the first Sunday of every month.

[Steve in PA]

Early on it was military (USMC), then I became a LEO.

I have several LEO firearms instructor certifications;

PA State Police - Municipal Firearms Instructor (handgun & shotgun)

NRA - Patrol Rifle Instructor and Tactical Shooting Instructor

Several courses that do not hold certifications;

PA State Police - Tactical Shooting

IALEFI - Numerous courses through this organization. Met some pretty high speed instructors like Andy Stanford and Ernie Langdon.

Courses I plan on attending;

NRA - Precision Rifle Instructor

Sig Academy - Several handgun courses/certifications.

[Philadelphia]

There is no doubt that the vast majority of people carrying firearms have little training geared towards anything other than shooting a stationary paper target. Much of that training has been very informal. What is your level of training?


I grew up shooting all types of firearms. My first formal pistol instruction was at the US Army Military Police School in 1991. We were the last class to qualify with the 1911 but also quailified with the 92F.

During my police career I attended 3 seperate firearms instructors schools as well as the Blackwater Shotgun/Pistol course, MP-5 Operators Course, Patrol Rifle operators course and Police Marksman course.

What traininig do you have, and what is your biggest hurdle for getting more?

If I could be so presumptuous as to suggest some different questions you might want to ask:

1. what is the mission we each expect to accomplish?

2. do we feel prepared to accomplish that mission?

3. if not, what training would we need to be successful?

If the mission is standing still, placing a hole in the center of a stationary paper target on a one way range under good lighting and zero stress, most are well prepared to engage.

If it's something else, get some professional training and practice as much as you possibly can. It's usually fun too.

To answer your questions, I've had training at various places, all of which I think was very high quality. To find the pinnacle, I think I got the most out of training provided by Jeff Gonzales of Trident Concepts.

The barrier to more training is same as others: it costs money and takes time. I will not let those barriers prevent my further training, but its' not something I can afford to do every day either.

[dgg9]

What traininig do you have,

About 300 or so hours of rifle, shotgun and pistol; from Jeff Gonzales, Gabe Suarez, Tom Givens, John Farnam, Andy Stanford, Dave Spaulding, the Tactical Response people, and some local guys. Possibly I'm forgetting someone here.

and what is your biggest hurdle for getting more?

The complete lack of classes in my driveable area! When I have to drive longer distances to classes, and require hotels, the cost and hassle factors multiply.

[Brown-Bear]

I picked up my training in the military. Honestly I have not attended any further training in a few years. I guess I probably should thoogh huh.

BB

[DaveM55]

A little military, a little commercial and about to get 80+ hours of free police training.

[4XLT]

i marked police training though im not an LEO i have had more than just learning from grampa and dad, and more than just hunting

shooting steel plate matches and knowing a few local LEO's that have given me pointers..

i would love to go to one of these tactical/self defensive type courses they have now and then but the cost seams high to me, i know whats 6-800 bucks if it saves you or your families life, but when you dont have an extra $800 bucks it means allot..

$100 bucks i could swing, ill bring my own gun and ammo i dont want to shoot someone elses ammo anyway i buy factory stuff so i know its ok.

if they have a hat for sale and i have an extra $10 ill buy it .

[Pa. Patriot]

I checked everything but police training.

I am not sure what you men by "training" though.

Some people consider shooting to be the same as training.
I don't consider "shooting" and "training" to be the same thing.
I know this is a topic that has a wide split of opinions, and I'm not sure if I'm in the minority or majority, but thought I would touch on it anyway since my answer is based on what I consider "training" (use of force, force on force, deescalation of force, retention, etc etc.)
IOW: To me, shooting is only a skill that needs to be mastered and practiced often because shooting skills are needed to actually train effectively.

Hope that makes sense