Larry Vickers AK Operator course

[d90king]

That really sucks for the guys who signed up. Sorry that this one didn't work out. Let me know if I can help next time and I will pull some guys from outside the state to make sure it happens!

[TonyF]

That really sucks for the guys who signed up. Sorry that this one didn't work out. Let me know if I can help next time and I will pull some guys from outside the state to make sure it happens!

D,

Ya know what? Fuck it.

I don't think LAV will be interested in sacrificing another weekend upon the altar of "no interest in SW PA". And I can't blame him. When I talked to him this past Saturday he was rather surprised to hear the class hadn't filled and was scrambling to find another venue to fill that slot in his calendar.

As you well know he is in great demand around the country and we were fortunate to have secured him for a weekend at all.

Nevertheless this is good data supporting the theory that gun owners in SW PA have a disinclination toward formal training.

We might as well open a lemonade stand at the north pole.

[RIG4DIVE]

Considering that there we less than six of us that made a deposit on the course, it's disappointing to see that I happened upon this POFOA post to learn of its cancellation INSTEAD of having been notified by the company/organization that accepted my payment in full. Considering we had to divulge home addresses, phones and email contact information in advance..sigh. Lesson learned.

[TonyF]

Considering that there we less than six of us that made a deposit on the course, it's disappointing to see that I happened upon this POFOA post to learn of its cancellation INSTEAD of having been notified by the company/organization that accepted my payment in full. Considering we had to divulge home addresses, phones and email contact information in advance..sigh. Lesson learned.

I spoke to Larry Saturday. That's when the final decision was made to cancel the class.

While I took it upon myself to organize this class and be the PoC, enrollment materials go to Pete's office of which I do not have 24/7 access.

Regardless, the priority this weekend was running our carbine / handgun courses. I don't understand your beef. We were all looking forward to this class for a number of reasons and we're just as disappointed as you.

[PeteG]

Considering that there we less than six of us that made a deposit on the course, it's disappointing to see that I happened upon this POFOA post to learn of its cancellation INSTEAD of having been notified by the company/organization that accepted my payment in full. Considering we had to divulge home addresses, phones and email contact information in advance..sigh. Lesson learned.

It was not "instead of." It was "in addition to." We write letters to people when a class cancels, and enclose a refund check. I also put out the word on several gun boards, so they might get the word sooner rather than later.

We are a non-profit organization, run entirely by volunteers. It is done this way for two reasons. One is to avoid all of the marketing hype, deception, lies and bovine-solid-waste that drive too many for-profit training organizations. Another is to keep the actual cost of the training as low as possible. The result is that paperwork – like refunds and such - take about a week.

Mr. Vickers made his decision on Saturday. I found out about it on Sunday night, after all day on the range. Word was posted here on Monday, and you saw it on Tuesday. So what’s the beef? You don't like the form of notice you received?

I'm not sure what "lesson" you learned, but if we don't meet your standards, you can always enroll directly through the Vickers web site. He posted on his site the same day we posted here.

[Mtbkski]

Pete and Tony

Thanks for trying.

It wasn't your fault. It is those that are convinced they don't really need training. I don't even blame the economy. Funny how they find money for anything else, except training. And to pass up a class that is probably the best AK class going. Excuses are like. As..... oh you know the rest.

I appreciate the early heads up you gave us via these various forums and e-mails. I at least knew it was canceled, and fully expected that a nice letter and refund where then in the works.

Don't know what some people want. Apparently it isn't training.

I'm glad you tried. I'm bummed we didn't fill the class. Keep up the good work. Some of us really do appreciate all the effort you guys put into it.

[he11zna]

Why wasn't this class ever listed on Vickerstactical.com?

Just curious.

D,

Ya know what? Fuck it.

I don't think LAV will be interested in sacrificing another weekend upon the altar of "no interest in SW PA". And I can't blame him. When I talked to him this past Saturday he was rather surprised to hear the class hadn't filled and was scrambling to find another venue to fill that slot in his calendar.

As you well know he is in great demand around the country and we were fortunate to have secured him for a weekend at all.

Nevertheless this is good data supporting the theory that gun owners in SW PA have a disinclination toward formal training.

We might as well open a lemonade stand at the north pole.

[27hand]

Tony, I haven't taken a class in about 3 years now since the last eye injury.
Heading toward retirement, I reprioritized cash outflow to work on completing major work to the house and only have one small addition to do.

I have watched the classes being presented, the feigned interest by a few and the cancellation of many.

I may be off base here or at least wrong but it seems there are too many classes being offered. The interest is stretched for the 50(or is it 30?) people in SW
Pa. that take a class or 2 per year(or one per year or one every other year).

The AK class would probably have been outstanding and perhaps filled if other potential students had not opted for basic tactical carbine or basic tactical pistol having been presented a month earlier.

SW Pa, as you know, is not a hotbed for people wanting to learn every facet of every platform. Hell, there are people on this board who think the one day HG class is good enough to carry them through even though it is emphasized as "preliminary to an actual tactical pistol class."

It is commendable that the FireInstitute tries to make a variety of training options available. I think it is also self defeating given the quantity of options with many students waiting for some specific class. It could be a shotgun class or practical rifle or any number of others which may or may not "go" because people are torn as to which one they want to take.

How many Vickers signees will roll into another available course?

Like I said, I may be wrong but that is my perspective having been on the outside looking in.

I would like to take both SG and PR if PT progresses to the point I can hold a longarm again within the next year.

Hans

D,

Ya know what? Fuck it.

I don't think LAV will be interested in sacrificing another weekend upon the altar of "no interest in SW PA". And I can't blame him. When I talked to him this past Saturday he was rather surprised to hear the class hadn't filled and was scrambling to find another venue to fill that slot in his calendar.

As you well know he is in great demand around the country and we were fortunate to have secured him for a weekend at all.

Nevertheless this is good data supporting the theory that gun owners in SW PA have a disinclination toward formal training.

We might as well open a lemonade stand at the north pole.

[Guns4Fun]

Hans, i don't know that i agree with -- too many classes.

I own many AK's but I really have no interest in an AK only class. Even if it is Larry Vickers teaching it. For me, AK's are fun toys but the AR's are the go to guns.

Hell, i had to offer up $100 to get the carbine class to become a go. To me, it just seems that more people want to talk about classes than actually take them.

Even after offering $100 toward the class, i only got 2 people interested out of the 20 some odd thousand on the board.

I was in the same boat though. I've been shooting since i was a kid and aside from one pistol class that i took when i first got my LTCF 20 some odd years ago i have had very little interest in taking a class until about 2 years ago. Even at that, it still took me 2 years after wanting to take one to actually taking one.

So, even if there wasn't a carbine class, i would have probably taken the pistol class and not the AK class.

Also, it could be that AK owners are cheap ass bastids and don't want to spend the money. I mean why else would they buy an AK over an AR .

[TonyF]

Why wasn't this class ever listed on Vickerstactical.com?

Just curious.

I dunno.

I really don't think it matters because we posted it on several major gun boards (PAFOA, 10-8, ar15.com, M&P pistol forum, etc.) and I think someone posted it for us at M4carbine.

I don't think it was for lack of getting the message out. We handed out at least 30 or 40+ flyers at the last C&E gunshow in april at the monroeville convention center.

The cost structure varies with instructors but regardless of the numbers, we only had 5 enrolled.