Firearm Training Schools

[tracksol]

I would like to start a general inquiry into which schools people have attended and what their experiences were. This is kind of open ended and hopefully will be kind of a catch all for future school reviews.

The reason I started this thread is because I purchased my first firearm (handgun) about 6 months ago and am about to complete an AR15 carbine. I have been in the military for over 11 years, so I personally do have some training. Unfortunately, I am in the USAF and not an MP nor in Special Operations so my training has been limited to once every 2 years and within 90 days of each deployment. (Before this current deployment I went and trained with the Army for 5 weeks. One of my favorite things I did was 4 man team facility clearing!!!) Although I am confident in my abilities to use both my pistol and carbine, I would like to learn some of the advanced tactics that are taught to our military elite. I know there are lots of schools out there but I haven't found much info about them from people that attended. I see that most of these schools offer the advanced tactics that I want to learn, but also beginner classes for those new to firearms.

Anyway, from my research thus far, I have found 3 schools that are frequently brought up on many forums. They are, in no particular order:

1) Front Sight
2) Progressive Force Concepts
3) Magpul Dynamics

I have only seen one review online which was about the Front Sight school. The only other school I have heard anything about was Progressive Force Concepts, which my coworker here deployed with me went to before being shipped out here (he's USAF but assigned to an Army unit) and his experience was rather good. I believe he attended a custom tailored class for military that was 5 days with mixture of advanced handgun and carbine lessons.

So without further ado:
Which school(s) have you attended?
Which course(s) did you take?
What experience did you have before attending?
How was the demeanor of the instructors?
How well was the material presented?
Do you feel you got what you payed for? Less? More?
Any comments (accommodations, ease of access, cleanliness)?

[tac40]

You can go with any of the following; Vtac-Kyle Lamb, Magpul Dynamics-Travis Haley & Chris Costa, CSAT-Paul Howe, EAG-Pat Rogers, Larry Vickers, Gunsite, Thunder Ranch, Spartan training with Jim Smith, Trident Concepts-Jeff Gonzales & Insight Training in the PNW and if southern CA try, 10-8 forums or ITTS with Scott Reitz. Most of these schools offer pistol/carbine, pre-deployment tactical classes for military. I've been to a few of these schools. Expect to spend around $1000.00 plus ammo/lodging.

Most of the courses I took were related to SWAT, pistol/carbine, shotgun, officer safety, tactics, search warrant and other essential knowledge domians related to problem solving of critical incidents. All instructors have real world experience and are well known in the teaching community-google/yahoo and you'll find out. All the named schools offer programs designed for every shooter, civilian, LEO, & military. Good luck.

[federalist22]

Thunder Ranch

My uncle used to instruct at Thunder Ranch before it moved out of Texas--only ever heard great things about their courses.

[tracksol]

Thanks for the tips. Since I have a bit of experience, I'm going to order up the Magpul DVDs and wait around for their course to come around my area.

[jamgusmc]

Suarez International is another option.

[rob_s]

Suarez International is another option.

Not to start a war here, but...

I would strongly suggest that anyone seeking training find out the names of the instructors/principals of the company and do extensive research into that person's background. There is more involved than the skills that they may or may not be able to teach you, and an instructor's integrity and/or history could come back to haunt you.

[CCK]

Not to start a war here, but...

I would strongly suggest that anyone seeking training find out the names of the instructors/principals of the company and do extensive research into that person's background. There is more involved than the skills that they may or may not be able to teach you, and an instructor's integrity and/or history could come back to haunt you.

Without firing back....

I'm a huge fan of Gabe's and know his history. How could that harm me?

He is always at the top of my short list if only for the Force on Force training that he advocates.

Chris