I’m a believer in taking classes. It’s amazing how much we don’t know until we take an actual in-person class with a good instructor. Here’s some links to help you find the perfect class.
- Haley Strategic – National level training, more expensive, but absolutely amazing. The best trainers around, go and learn from Haley Strategic.
- USCCA Local Training – Lots of local trainers posting tons of classes you can search and sign up for. A great way to start taking classes wherever you live. Search by women’s classes, first time shooters, pistol, rifle, etc.
- Randy Watt / Warrior Creed – A really good local Utah trainer.
- Range Ready – If you’re going to be near Louisiana, check out a class here by top-level instructors.
- Sig Sauer Academy – You don’t need to own an Sig to take a class here, but you may leave a die-hard Sig fan. In New Hampshire, they get top level instructors.
- Gunsite Academy – One of the most famous training facilities, and located in Arizona.
Classes Just for Women
Women often prefer taking classes from women trainers. If you’re a guy and want to teach your wife or girlfriend, perhaps instead buy her a class with a female trainer. And if you’re female and want to learn more, here are groups and resources I’ve heard good things about – both online and in person.
They’re all listed here, on my Just for Women’s page.
First Person Defender – Train Your Brain from Home on YouTube with FPD
Nothing beats in-person training. However, you can learn a ton from home. It’s amazing all the things people get from TV and movies – that’s just wrong!
Well this show is produced by real trainers, and they put real people through real scenarios with non-lethal guns to see what they’ll do. And then they get some training and run the scenario again. It’s called First Person Defender, and it’s produced by the guys at Gun Talk Media.
It’s completely free to watch on YouTube, and I highly recommend it.
First Person Defender puts everyday people into intense, real-world self-defense scenarios using force-on-force training with non-lethal weapons. Watch as “good guys and gals” face off against armed attackers, home invasions, carjackings, and more — all under pressure. Each episode is raw, unpredictable, and packed with hard-hitting lessons in personal defense, situational awareness, and decision-making. Whether you carry daily or are just starting your self-defense journey, FPD shows what works… and what doesn’t, when split-second choices mean everything.
“Oh, I Don’t Need Training!”
Many people can shoot well if they go slow. But how well can you shoot quickly? Maybe you’re okay with the first shot, but how about the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th shots if you shoot quick? This usually exposes deficiencies, and often people look to a new and better gun to shoot better. Many times someone will tell me their new gun doesn’t shoot right. “This is an expensive gun, but it shoots LOW and LEFT,” they say. Actually, they’re typically doing a few things wrong, that when corrected, makes them shoot amazingly better.
When watching people on the range, you’ll see that the average grip, stance, and shooting style people use doesn’t come from classes, but rather what we are exposed to most – TVs and movies. Hollywood is so wrong, it’s laughable (but then again, Hollywood is wrong about everything). If we wanted to be better at golf, we’d take a lesson from a pro. Same with skiing, rock climbing, or anything else. But with guns, people often avoid lessons because there’s some bravado in this subject, and instead people will say, “Oh, I don’t need a lesson, I grew up with guns.” Or, “I was in the military/was a police officer/etc.” As if these somehow show proficiency.
It’s actually become an ongoing joke in the gun world how often these three excuses come up when someone is told they’re being unsafe at a range. They say, “It’s okay, (1) I grew up with guns, (2) I was in the military, or (3) I was a police officer.”
Don’t make excuses. Be safe. Shoot with safe people only. And learn all you can.
