Have a buddy taking their defensive handgun class.
http://proactiveshooters.com/defensive-handgun-i-2/
Curious to see if anyone knew of them?
Are there any alternatives in VA for basic’ish handgun courses this year?
If you are local, I doubt you will do much better.
On their endorsement page the first one is from someone I know personally and has trained a lot of people. I think he was classified at master or high master at certain styles. I would go on his endorsement alone and now that I know about this I probably actually will go to that class.
The only other thing I know of is that someone has an advert on teh board at BlackCreek to teach beginning defensive pistol I -think- for $50. I don;t know if that is for members only and I don’t know who it is. You could call BlackCreek though.
But if you are near north Richmond, I would think that link you posted would be a no brainer. I looked at a recent BlackCreek Steel match score sheet but didn’t see their names ( not that that means anything ).
Since all I have to go on is the website and the photo the company posted, I would give it a miss.
The two people pictured in the link have serious flaws in their grips and stance (and I don’t mean just because it’s modified weaver/chapman/whatever, though that’s enough reason to look somewhere else.)
I would hope the picture of the man and woman are “before” photos and not the result of their instruction, but if that’s the case why put those photos up?
If the school can’t teach a proper modern grip and stance, then stay away.
No time to dig up the links now, but “Virginia Tactical” and “Northern Virginia Tactical” would be two better options. There may be others.
CCJA, in Fredericksburg, VA usually has a monthly pistol class. You just missed their October session this past weekend. If it’s not too far, might be worth a look in the future.
Their calendar: http://www.ccjatraining.com/calendar/index.htm
Also consider John Murphy, of FPF Training. Loud, profane, and awesome!
These guys would be better than the company in question, too, and maybe closer than the NoVa-based folks.
Thanks for the replies. Forgot about Perroni. Taken a course from him before.
When seeing the main photo on that http://proactiveshooters.com/defensive-handgun-i-2/ I was pretty skeptical.
Sounds like my friend is locked in so I’ll tag along. That plus it’s only an hour drive. If they are OK with video I’ll record as much as I can and do an AAR…
Have a buddy taking their defensive handgun class.
http://proactiveshooters.com/defensive-handgun-i-2/
Please post back and let us know what they taught him.
I agree about the pictures but two things come to mind.
-1. they are gun guys and not web site designers
-2. their main focus is beginners and the ccw crowd who might be reluctant to go to a site with more military / leo oriented pictures.
I would agree though that if those pictures are after a defensive handgun instructional, I would not attend.
-
I’m a gun guy too, and yet I have a camera and I know what wrong looks like. I don’t need to know how to design a web site to know that posting a photo of a female with a borderline saucer-cup grip and fellow with thumbs overlapping is wrong. The fundamentals are so important to me that I would not let that photo be on my website.
-
I really doubt they are training the military or LEOs (unless it’s individuals taking a class on their own), so they wouldn’t have those photos to put up anyway.
Just so you know, I’m not one of those that thinks you absolutely have to get instruction from LAV or the new traveling instructor de jour. There are local, little-known instructors around the country that can offer something to 99% of us. I’m not sure this is one of them.
I would be interested in the AAR, too, but also would need to know the experience level of the person writing the AAR.
I would look for VSM class in VA if that is your price range
Argh wish I had known about that 914 a month ago. Weekend after this is too short notice. Adds a little under 2hrs travel but it is the same price 
@comprido… I hear you.
At the same…
I can’t believe they will be teaching what is seen in those photos. But who knows. I’ve seen/heard stranger things.
“A picture is worth a thousand words”
Too bad none of those words were complimentary in this case.
First, an introduction. My name is James Reynolds, and I am the President of Proactive Shooters, the aforementioned company. We are a full time firearms training company here in Richmond, Va.
Just to further introduce myself - My background is in law enforcement (12 years). I am an NRA certified instructor as well as a Utah BCI certified firearms instructor. When I was in LE, I was certified as a General Instructor and Firearms Instructor by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. I have trained law enforcement, military, federal agencies, etc. Suffice it to say, I’ve been around for a minute.
Now, the photos…The photos shown on our Defensive Handgun course page are not from an actual Defensive Handgun I course. They are two photos of 2 individuals on our range. What is taking place in the photos is an evaluation if you will, of 2 people new to handgun shooting. Without going into great detail. the woman in the photo has a medical issue which affects her grip, or ability to grip a pistol in a manner which many would consider normal. Previously, she had only a small handful of experiences on a revolver. The gentleman had purchased a handgun after never having owned, or fired one previously. Neither student had ever even been to an outdoor range before, let alone participated in formal firearms training.
What is going on in the photos is that I am evaluating them on a “what comes naturally to them” basis. Without going in to greater detail, what you see is that I take a “new shooter” and I ask them to perform what they would consider to be a “normal grip and stance” for someone shooting a handgun. I believe in seeing what the person knows, or doesn’t know before telling them what I know, or what I think they should do. You see, some people are a natural. They pick up a handgun and shoot it like nobody’s business. If I start off telling them what I think they should do, I may ruin what was a perfectly functional shooting platform, grip, stance, etc. I make no assumption that I am the “all knowing being” and that you must do it my way or the highway. The photos were actually shown to the students on site to demonstrate what they were doing correctly, or incorrectly. If you’ll notice, neither student is wearing a holster. That’s because the guns are unloaded. They were simply being used as props during the eval.
Now, why did we use these photos for this webpage? Simple really.
-
The photos are of a man and woman, of average stature, wearing everyday clothing. There are no crewcuts, camo, 5.11 pants, tactical thigh holsters, or olympic athletes pictured here. Just 2 everyday, normal people. As a full time company, we do extensive market research (Yes, a firearms trainer does market research. How do you think I found this discussion, on a website I’ve never heard of before?). We have found that the average student, male or female, who is looking for a CCW class, is turned off by photos of guys who look like Rambo or Robocop. They want to see the Everyman. They want to say to themselves, “I look like that”.
-
The range - we used these photos in part to show the range (the height of the berm, gravel surface, target distances, target spacing, etc.). The idea is that we didnt just dump a pile of dirt out back and call it a range.
I never in a million years imagined that anyone would critique the photos to the extreme of maligning our entire training program based upon two static photos on our webpage. They were not intended to provide any information, good or bad about the training program, but are more in the frame of reference of “marketing materials”. I do not like to use canned, “average range photos” of people and places that are unrealistic, and unknown. These are real students of ours, on our range. What is going on in the photos is in no way meant to give anyone any information about what the training entails. Had I known that the photos would be viewed in that manner, I would have tried to utilize a better photo to avoid such scrutiny.
I appreciate this forum allowing me to respond to the questions posed, and to those of you who have taken the time to read my response.
Stay safe, and carry every day,
James Reynolds
President
Proactive Shooters, LLC
Thanks for posting.
Good to see there are other instructors out there who don’t paint a set of footprints on the ground and say “you must fit in here”!
Thank you, Redhat. I’ve never been “that guy”, nor do I see myself becoming him in the future. 
I agree 100% with this and the quote in the above post. God knows I’m not one to drink the cool-aid either, but unfortunately that’s not how the world turns.
When people don’t know you and one of the only means they have to form an opinion is a webpage with info or even just a picture, that picture of information has to communicate certain information, paint a certain picture, It has to express competence.
Personally, I don’t think it has to do with fitting a certain mold within the training community, it has to do with carefully chosing what you put out there as a company that will express or communicate something positive. Unfortunately on the internet and gun forums there’s absolutely no room for interpretation as people will assume or interpret that information out of context and the result is usually not a positive one.
You don’t need to put a bunch of tier one guys on your site training, or a group of guys all dresses up for the weekend, but IMO with the internet being the way it is and people jumping the gun the way they do, you do need a picture that expresses something different.
In this case a non flattering picture was used, and without context it’s not a surprise people assumed the worst, It’s basic human behavior.
R.
You present an intelligent argument, Rick. I appreciate your post.
I guess its like the radio commercial says, “If the internet is like the wild west, certainly there must be a guy with a white hat”. Doesn’t look like the guy in the white hat is available this time.
While I still feel that the majority of our students will not think as deeply into the photos as described here, I do not want anyone to think anything bad about our training. As much as I think that the photos have positive attributes, it only takes one person with a computer and an outlet such as a gun forum to put a negative spin on things.
I have removed the photos until more suitable pics can be obtained.
You might consider posting you beginner photos under the basic handgun courses and more advanced students under those corresponding classes?
The reason I say this is I think your approach has merit.
“A picture is worth a thousand words”
Too bad none of those words were complimentary in this case.
Well, I’m a bit late, missed the replies.
ProShooter, you are going to hurt my feelings now 
( just kidding )
I think your summary of the photos was pretty much what I suspected as can be read in my posts above. I’m local and will likely set aside some time to take one of your class.
I wouldn’t take the comments you read here in a negative manner. I would say that to the man or woman here, everyone has one basic mindset and that is to help anyone that is willing to put the work in to become the best shooter they can possibly be with the least effort possible.
It’s definitely not a “do it my way or you’re wrong” type place. However the people here with the strongest opinions have had those opinions heated in the fire and hammered on the anvil for a long time so to speak.
Anyway, just my two cents again.
tb-av,
Thank you for your reply. I never want to hurt anyone's feelings. :)
Anyway, I understand what’s been said here and I take it with a grain of salt. No worries.
I will share with you that out of the 9 students who attended last month’s class, I have heard back from about 4-5 of them. All of the feedback was good. Here is a sample of their comments:
Review #1 [i]Our group really enjoyed themselves. What a beautiful day it was to send rounds down range. The range was great!
I better keep practicing from the knee and the laying down positions we worked on, because at 25 yards that was tough!
Jim is a great class instructor, and a great guy. The linear and lateral movement made it worth it by themselves.Thanks a ton my friend! [/i]
Review #2 [i]Enjoyed the Defense Handgun I class yesterday. The weather was great… sunny and in the 50’s.
What we practiced:
- Shooting from 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 and 25 yards.
- Two-handed shooting, strong and weak side
- One-handed shooting, strong and weak side
- Shooting while on the move
- Linear and Lateral movement
- Shooting small to miss small
- Verbal commands
- Target recognition
- Shooting while within arms reach of attacker
- Shooting multiple attackers
- Shooting from kneeling and prone positions
- Administrative and tactical reloads
- Drawing from the holster and reholstering
- Shooting the Virginia Qualification for Semiautomatic pistols
*Done twice and scored each time
Likes:
- Rules in place to assure safety. Plan in place and known to all students in case of emergency.
- Relaxed atmosphere. Instructor never seemed stressed. Calmly addressed any instances of safety violations.
- The class was well planned. The instructor worked from a schedule and would tell us how many rounds we needed for the next course of fire and which targets to hang.
- Limited class enrollment - quality over quantity
- Individual attention
- Instructor regularly reviewed each student’s target in front of the entire class and gave comments and advice
- Instructor would regularly point out good and bad things that he observed, so that students could learn and improve
- Everyone could shoot at the same time and did not have to sit idle for half or two-thirds of the class. The one exception was during the lateral movement and shooting session, when only one student shot at a time. This was still useful because I could watch and learn, and listen to the constructive comments given to each student by the instructor.
- Private range reserved just for our class where we could draw from the holster and move and shoot.
- Good use of the 400 rounds of ammo. Always encouraged to make the shots count. Did not just rapidly empty magazines into the targets.
- Plenty of time to ask questions
- Instructor stayed late to allow extra instruction to those who wanted it
- Freshly cleaned porta-potty close to the range.
Dislikes:
- None
Suggestions:
- Have hand wash to use before eating lunch and after using the porta-potty
Comments:
- Worth the drive from Maryland
- Looking forward to Defense Handgun II
Thanks Jim! [/i]
Review #3 [i]Very good write up! I could not say it better, therefore I will keep it brief
I attended the class as well and reiterate what was said above, the class was excellent. A good range of handgun drills, shooting positions and movements were covered. Everything was performed in a safe manner, all shooters displayed knowledge of safety and shooting techniques. It seemed like all students had a great time, and learned things that they do well and things they need to work on in their own shooting.
All in all I would definitely recommend this class/instructor, Jim is very good at what he does. I’m definitely looking forward to taking his Handgun II course. [/i]
Again, a small sampling and I offer them for what their worth at face value. I hope that others in the future will continue to enjoy the class and I always welcome feedback on how to make it better.
Jim
Sounds good! That’s what I’m looking for.
TB