AJS214
Member
I originally posted this on reddit, but I thought it might be a good idea to post it here as well.
There are always the usual indoor classes available at Ted's, C2 Tactical, Scottsdale Gun Club, Caswell's, and others.
https://scottsdalegunclub.com/classes
https://c2tacticaltempe.com/firearm-classes/
https://tedsshootingrange.com/classes/
https://caswells.com/training/
Scottsdale Gun Club rolled out eight new classes earlier this month. What's new about these classes is that some build upon their preexisting curriculum, some have been combined into a longer time format, and some are old classes that have been revised based on previous feedback.
'Ladies Only Defensive Handgun' is completely new as far as I can tell, compared to 'Ladies of Liberty' for weapons familiarization and 'Concealed with Curves' for accessories lecture.
'Advanced Handgun Skills Development' is a continuation of 'Handgun Skills Development', which covered fundamentals and deliberate practice in the ways that you often hear or read competition shooters go on for hours and hours about, where some folks get a real buzz from but others glaze over. This time it's about transitions, to/from cover, and yet more drills to add to your practice planning.
'Defensive Handgun Skills Development' is the first one that stuck out to my mind, and I'll be taking it along with the other class I mentioned above to see how they are different.
'Basic Carbine' I never took, so 'Advanced Carbine' is something I can comment even less on. I don't know whether they decided their original 'Basic Carbine' spread too much material too thin and decided they were better off splitting it into two classes, or if it was just a matter of too much time being spent on teaching people how to zero their weapons and the proper form that zeroing requires.
The 'Two Day Defensive Handgun Course' is their Defensive Handgun levels I-IV, all knocked out over a single weekend instead of the 3-to-4 hour blocks they normally have on workdays.
'Low Light Handgun Skills Refresher' seems to be what it says on the label. Low light is first taught in level III and from what I remember most of it was learning the holds and then seeing how distance becomes even more of a factor when trying to identify and shoot targets in live-fire.
'Holster Presentation' nets members of SGC a card that allows holster draw in future range visits. Before, you had to take level II, which meant you had to take level I. This focuses a little bit more on reloads and malf clearances than II.
Note that while IWB holsters are not allowed in any of their classes, afterwards I have been able to draw from concealment in appendix position while practicing on my own in subsequent visits, and I've seen others with a draw card doing so as well, although it's uncommon. Most of the holster guys I see are wearing open speed rigs.
Remember that if you want to vet your equipment choices, hone your fundamentals, and build confident and safe weapons handling under the addition of time and pressure so that you can get the most out of whatever your training classes are actually trying to teach, Arizona has damn near the best competition scene on astate national level. Check out the Practical Shooting Starter Course at Rio Salado (best $40 of gun money I've ever spent) if you'd rather not just jump straight into the fire on a regular match, though most folks are plenty friendly if you let them know you are new and ask questions. Get an account on the Practiscore website/app to find and register for upcoming shoots in your area, and track your scores.
https://www.rsscaz.com/divisions/practical-pistol/pssc
https://practiscore.com/
====================================================================================
Maybe you've already got the basics of handgun use, took one of the many 4 or 8 hour CCW classes offered around here, and have spent some time working from a holster and pouches instead of the bench. Perhaps you've also already shot in some weekly matches, or you've taken a couple defensive pistol courses at one of our local ranges, and there's a few names that get dropped that you remember.
====================================================================================
Can't make it to a Shivworks class with Craig Douglas? Learn about these concepts in force-on-force exercises with UTM rounds and roleplayers, as presented by Cecil Burch and Glen Stilson.
10/4-10/5: Independence Training - Close Contact Handgun
https://www.independencetraining.com/training/close-contact-handgun/
11/8-11/9: Independence Training - Entangled Handgun
https://www.independencetraining.com/training/entangled-handgun/
Where a good instructor can make or break the difference between someone who becomes a competent and responsible shooter, or someone who becomes joins the legions of 'that guy', or even gives up altogether, Tom Givens is the instructor of good instructors. This class, in Caleb Gidding's words, "is pure essence of superior defensive pistolcraft".
11/2-11/3: Rangemaster - Intensive Pistol Skills
https://rangemaster.com/training/intensive-pistol/
Rob Haught is one of the few remaining defensive shotgun instructors remaining in the age of the patrol carbine. My home defense weapon is a Remington 870, and while I have shot at clays and paper a handful of times and taken the shotgun classes at SGC a couple of times, I need to do better.
10/19-10-20: Rob Haught - Shotgun Skills
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/symtac-consultings-shotgun-skills-with-rob-haught-tickets-65569180183
Gabe White is known for competing at a high level in the USPSA with his carry gear despite the disadvantages that it presents in a competitive setting. His style of teaching focuses on students integrating that level of technical performance for everyday self-defense, which most instructors with a competitive background choose not to address. When I attended this earlier at the beginning of this year, there were a couple Rogers alumni and Gunsite instructors in the class, which I think speaks for itself. Can't wait to see him again.
10/26-10/27: Gabe White - Pistol Shooting Solutions
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pistol-shooting-solutions-phoenix-az-october-26th-and-27th-2019-tickets-61790615394
If you visit the outdoor ranges like Ben Avery, Rio Salado, Phoenix Rod & Gun, Pima Pistol Club, etc, you're bound to see T-shirts from local competition trainers like Hammer Down or Secret Weapon. If you're looking for an outsider, Tim Herron's a lefty single-stack shooter who started shooting in 2010 and became a grandmaster four years later, not because he spent hours at the range shooting a thousand rounds or more, but because he had good mentors who showed him better ways to practice.
11/23-11/24 - Tim Herron - Practical Performance
http://timherronshooting.com/practicalperformance.html
Do you carry or compete with a red dot? Scott Jedlinski's your guy for that. I'm still sticking to irons but I've taken his AIWB class hosted by AJ Zito at PPT in Prescott. Both of their abilities to diagnose and make corrections with noticeable improvements in performance are a thing to behold. Scott also does an online coaching option that is relatively new (the only other ones I've heard of are from Ben Stoeger and John McPhee) and I may end up trying that in the future.
10/12-10/13: Modern Samurai Project - Red Dot Fundamentals and Performance
https://modern-samurai-project.myshopify.com/products/red-dot-pistol-fundamentals-and-performance-2-day-course-casa-grande-az-october-12-13-2019
If you read Recoil Magazine, you may have seen Melody Lauer's featured print article in last month's issue. Her and co-instructor John Johnston have also been on Lucky Gunner's YouTube channel with Chris Baker in his Start Shooting Better series. Last winter they were hosted here by John Correia for their Armed Parent/Guardian courses, but this time they'll be teaching their Armed Citizen/Public Encounters course which I think is actually new. Technical Handgun: Tests and Standards will be making a return though.
12/13: Citizens Defense Research - Contextual Handgun, Fundamental Applied Pistol Skills
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/phoenix-arizona-friday-contextual-handgun-fundamental-applied-pistol-skills-tickets-61947886797
12/14-12/15: Citizens Defense Research - Contextual Handgun, The Armed Citizen/Public Encounters
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/phoenix-arizona-contextual-handgun-the-armed-citizenpublic-encounters-tickets-63892192267
12/17: Citizens Defense Research - Technical Handgun, Tests and Standards
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/phoenix-arizona-tuesday-technical-handgun-tests-and-standards-tickets-63887434035
If there's a class or a match that's coming up that you guys think everyone should know about, don't hesitate to post about it!
There are always the usual indoor classes available at Ted's, C2 Tactical, Scottsdale Gun Club, Caswell's, and others.
https://scottsdalegunclub.com/classes
https://c2tacticaltempe.com/firearm-classes/
https://tedsshootingrange.com/classes/
https://caswells.com/training/
Scottsdale Gun Club rolled out eight new classes earlier this month. What's new about these classes is that some build upon their preexisting curriculum, some have been combined into a longer time format, and some are old classes that have been revised based on previous feedback.
'Ladies Only Defensive Handgun' is completely new as far as I can tell, compared to 'Ladies of Liberty' for weapons familiarization and 'Concealed with Curves' for accessories lecture.
'Advanced Handgun Skills Development' is a continuation of 'Handgun Skills Development', which covered fundamentals and deliberate practice in the ways that you often hear or read competition shooters go on for hours and hours about, where some folks get a real buzz from but others glaze over. This time it's about transitions, to/from cover, and yet more drills to add to your practice planning.
'Defensive Handgun Skills Development' is the first one that stuck out to my mind, and I'll be taking it along with the other class I mentioned above to see how they are different.
'Basic Carbine' I never took, so 'Advanced Carbine' is something I can comment even less on. I don't know whether they decided their original 'Basic Carbine' spread too much material too thin and decided they were better off splitting it into two classes, or if it was just a matter of too much time being spent on teaching people how to zero their weapons and the proper form that zeroing requires.
The 'Two Day Defensive Handgun Course' is their Defensive Handgun levels I-IV, all knocked out over a single weekend instead of the 3-to-4 hour blocks they normally have on workdays.
'Low Light Handgun Skills Refresher' seems to be what it says on the label. Low light is first taught in level III and from what I remember most of it was learning the holds and then seeing how distance becomes even more of a factor when trying to identify and shoot targets in live-fire.
'Holster Presentation' nets members of SGC a card that allows holster draw in future range visits. Before, you had to take level II, which meant you had to take level I. This focuses a little bit more on reloads and malf clearances than II.
Note that while IWB holsters are not allowed in any of their classes, afterwards I have been able to draw from concealment in appendix position while practicing on my own in subsequent visits, and I've seen others with a draw card doing so as well, although it's uncommon. Most of the holster guys I see are wearing open speed rigs.
Remember that if you want to vet your equipment choices, hone your fundamentals, and build confident and safe weapons handling under the addition of time and pressure so that you can get the most out of whatever your training classes are actually trying to teach, Arizona has damn near the best competition scene on a
https://www.rsscaz.com/divisions/practical-pistol/pssc
https://practiscore.com/
====================================================================================
Maybe you've already got the basics of handgun use, took one of the many 4 or 8 hour CCW classes offered around here, and have spent some time working from a holster and pouches instead of the bench. Perhaps you've also already shot in some weekly matches, or you've taken a couple defensive pistol courses at one of our local ranges, and there's a few names that get dropped that you remember.
====================================================================================
Can't make it to a Shivworks class with Craig Douglas? Learn about these concepts in force-on-force exercises with UTM rounds and roleplayers, as presented by Cecil Burch and Glen Stilson.
10/4-10/5: Independence Training - Close Contact Handgun
https://www.independencetraining.com/training/close-contact-handgun/
11/8-11/9: Independence Training - Entangled Handgun
https://www.independencetraining.com/training/entangled-handgun/
Where a good instructor can make or break the difference between someone who becomes a competent and responsible shooter, or someone who becomes joins the legions of 'that guy', or even gives up altogether, Tom Givens is the instructor of good instructors. This class, in Caleb Gidding's words, "is pure essence of superior defensive pistolcraft".
11/2-11/3: Rangemaster - Intensive Pistol Skills
https://rangemaster.com/training/intensive-pistol/
Rob Haught is one of the few remaining defensive shotgun instructors remaining in the age of the patrol carbine. My home defense weapon is a Remington 870, and while I have shot at clays and paper a handful of times and taken the shotgun classes at SGC a couple of times, I need to do better.
10/19-10-20: Rob Haught - Shotgun Skills
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/symtac-consultings-shotgun-skills-with-rob-haught-tickets-65569180183
Gabe White is known for competing at a high level in the USPSA with his carry gear despite the disadvantages that it presents in a competitive setting. His style of teaching focuses on students integrating that level of technical performance for everyday self-defense, which most instructors with a competitive background choose not to address. When I attended this earlier at the beginning of this year, there were a couple Rogers alumni and Gunsite instructors in the class, which I think speaks for itself. Can't wait to see him again.
10/26-10/27: Gabe White - Pistol Shooting Solutions
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pistol-shooting-solutions-phoenix-az-october-26th-and-27th-2019-tickets-61790615394
If you visit the outdoor ranges like Ben Avery, Rio Salado, Phoenix Rod & Gun, Pima Pistol Club, etc, you're bound to see T-shirts from local competition trainers like Hammer Down or Secret Weapon. If you're looking for an outsider, Tim Herron's a lefty single-stack shooter who started shooting in 2010 and became a grandmaster four years later, not because he spent hours at the range shooting a thousand rounds or more, but because he had good mentors who showed him better ways to practice.
11/23-11/24 - Tim Herron - Practical Performance
http://timherronshooting.com/practicalperformance.html
Do you carry or compete with a red dot? Scott Jedlinski's your guy for that. I'm still sticking to irons but I've taken his AIWB class hosted by AJ Zito at PPT in Prescott. Both of their abilities to diagnose and make corrections with noticeable improvements in performance are a thing to behold. Scott also does an online coaching option that is relatively new (the only other ones I've heard of are from Ben Stoeger and John McPhee) and I may end up trying that in the future.
10/12-10/13: Modern Samurai Project - Red Dot Fundamentals and Performance
https://modern-samurai-project.myshopify.com/products/red-dot-pistol-fundamentals-and-performance-2-day-course-casa-grande-az-october-12-13-2019
If you read Recoil Magazine, you may have seen Melody Lauer's featured print article in last month's issue. Her and co-instructor John Johnston have also been on Lucky Gunner's YouTube channel with Chris Baker in his Start Shooting Better series. Last winter they were hosted here by John Correia for their Armed Parent/Guardian courses, but this time they'll be teaching their Armed Citizen/Public Encounters course which I think is actually new. Technical Handgun: Tests and Standards will be making a return though.
12/13: Citizens Defense Research - Contextual Handgun, Fundamental Applied Pistol Skills
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/phoenix-arizona-friday-contextual-handgun-fundamental-applied-pistol-skills-tickets-61947886797
12/14-12/15: Citizens Defense Research - Contextual Handgun, The Armed Citizen/Public Encounters
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/phoenix-arizona-contextual-handgun-the-armed-citizenpublic-encounters-tickets-63892192267
12/17: Citizens Defense Research - Technical Handgun, Tests and Standards
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/phoenix-arizona-tuesday-technical-handgun-tests-and-standards-tickets-63887434035
If there's a class or a match that's coming up that you guys think everyone should know about, don't hesitate to post about it!
