Ok, so I decided that this was the summer that I was going to finally go to a Magpul class, and wouldn’t you know, I can’t make any of them. Who else should I look to for effective pistol training? If not Magpul who??? Who else do you trust? Thanks
I’m not picking on you, or being a dick, or saying anything against Magpul…
How did you choose Magpul? It would seem to me that you could use the same selection criteria to choose an alternative, no?
Just look at the Training forum…certainly a great selection of Instructors.
Check out the cadre and AARs on this site… lots of helpful first hand info that should help you decide
Hey Rob_s, no I do not think you are being a dick. I thought that this was a forum where information was shared, silly me I guess.
I picked Magpul because I have watched a couple of their vids and I like their methods. I have also read more than a few AARs from members of this forum and it all seemed good to go. However, I am currently spending 16 hours a day trying to become a medical doctor so I thought that I would just ask for some opinions and info to save me some time, but again, silly me. Thank you for your help.
Might help to know where you’re located. Can one assume you are in Ohio, based on your screen name?
I see nothing wrong with what rob said. I couldn’t find a Magpul class that fit my location or schedule so I took a class with EAG Tactical. You can apply your reasoning for choosing MD to any other well known instructor out there.
It’s unfortunate that you took offense.
First, if we don’t know how you selected your first choice or what your selection criteria was for selecting them it’s going to be almost impossible to suggest an alternative. If your reason for choosing Magpul was the “Dynamic” aspect you see in the videos then suggesting you take a fundamentals class with someone like Randy Cain that will really instill a good base is probably not something you’re going to be interested in.
Second, if you can identify for yourself, even without our input, what your selection criteria is you might just surprise yourself and make up your own mind.
It would appear that your criteria is snazzy videos. The good news is that there are several other well-respected instructors and schools coming out with training videos after the first of the year so if you’re in no hurry between all those 16-hour days you might soon have a way to evaluate some more options from your sofa.
It would depend on what your looking to get out of it. There are several SI instructors in my area so that is one choice I have. I am also about 2 hours from Yegar and Tactical Response.
So unless your just trying to OD on some flavor of Kool Aid just pick someone close and go for it, if it’s your 1st class.
I’ve attended several classes at Gunsite in Paladin Arizona. All classes were great and instructed by high level LEO’s and the area is awesome. Look em up.
Well, not to divert this entirely but I’d personally strongly recommend avoiding James Yeager. Ignoring the controversy about him personally, at least read/watch a few videos of what he considers acceptable range safety before you go that route. Specifically his practice of having instructors down range from totally new shooters.
Check out www.greygrouptraining.com
I’m sure you’ll find an instructor that fits your needs.
If I had to recommend a pistol instructor I’d say go with TigerSwan or Jason Falla (Redback One) based on personal experience.
I took a class from InSights Training Center and it was great experience. The instructors and course were top notch.
I’ll echo this. I’ve now taken basic handgun, general defensive handgun, street & vehicle tactics, tactical first aid, general defensive carbine, and intensive handgun skills and every one of them have been absolutely outstanding, both in terms of the instructors and teaching materials.
They tend to not offer nearly as many nor as frequent classes on the East Coast, but for anyone in the Washington/Oregon area they should be near the top of your list.
Assuming that you are in Ohio, there are going to be MANY great opportunities for you to train with either Mr. Hackathorn or Mr. Vickers.
We are working on a Level 1 Vickers Pistol Class in Northeast Ohio and I know that there will be a Hackathorn pistol class in Marietta Ohio.
The two instructors listed above are tops in the industry and are VERY accuracy focused. I gurantee that you will learn something and your accuracy will have improved greatly.
C4
I’m not making any assumptions about you but your post doesn’t give us a lot to go on to help you. so first, three questions -
what is your level of experience/proficiency?
if you are a long time shooter with previous class or competition experience and want to take it to the next level with some of the more dynamic trainers, that’s great but if you’re a beginner, a two or three day class is a lot of information to process and internalize. even the multiday Beginner courses are best taken after developing a solid foundation in weapons safety and manipulation so you can pay attention to all the things you didn’t know instead of trying to focus on everything.
what do you want to learn?
trying to understand and define what you want to get out of a class before you take it is really important to actually achieving those goals. doing a little research and understanding what different trainers’ philosophies are will go a long way in helping you decide who you want/need to train with.
if all your goal is, and I’m not saying it is, is “experiencing” a high-profile training class, that’s OK too, as there seems to be an increase in what I call “tactical tourism” that is good for the industry by increasing revenues. but understand that even after three days, you’re not going to come out of the class moving and shooting the same as the instructors. instead, you’ll (hopefully) come out with an understanding of your deficiencies and a plan to address them.
where are you located?
I’m fortunate that living near Atlanta, I have access to a lot of local training opportunities with lesser known but potentially just as good trainers that can help me achieve my goals. that saves on expense and actually allows me to take advantage of more training opportunities than if I shot my wad on travel and lodging, etc…
my plan for the coming year is to take advantage of all the one and two day training from local instructors to develop the a solid skill set and experience before I invest in a multi-day class with one of the “celebrity” trainers later in the year.
again, I’m not making any assumptions about you but if you are seriously interested in improving your skill set, Randy Cain, who rob_s mentioned, is consistently mentioned as one of the top trainers who not only knows a great deal but possesses the rare gift of actually being able to transfer that knowledge to an individual, regardless of their current level.
good luck…
Great advice.
I’ll add that John Holschen, with whom I’ve now taken several classes, spoke highly of Randy Cain in my last class, when asked what other instructors he’d recommend.
TDI is also very good if you’re in Ohio.
I will second the Tactical Defense Institute bid. For some reason we seem to get overlooked on these forums yet we have a huge class selection and are one of the few schools in the country that fills every class and has to add classes to accomidate the need for students. Our staff is from varied backgrounds from patrol LE to SWAT to military and civilian walks of life. We are in southern Ohio about 1.5 hours east of Cincinnati. We have three live fire houses, a force on force house, multiple pistol ranges and a 400 yard rifle range plus classroom, all on 186 acres. Our weapons handling instruction has proven to be second to none and our tactical training has been proven on the street and overseas, and has proven to defeat anything I have seen when put against other tactics when tested force on force.
Gives us a look.
I will also second the Ken Hackathorn and Larry Vickers classes. Great guys and I am proud to name them among my good friends.
David Bowie
Also, tdi is VERY reasonable as far as rates go. Give their site a look.