Free 4 day defensive handgun class

[croc870]

Depending on where in TX you live, that membership might be a lot more handy than you think.

[KinnyLee]

I just got back from a 4 Day Defensive Handgun there... had a great time! Instructors are great! Liked it so much I am buying a membership there even though I live here in Texas.

Thanks for a brief review on what's to come. Last call. Last call.

Thanks,
Kinny

[KinnyLee]

Thanks for the interests and inquiries. The deadline has passed.

Kinny.

[big 54r]

I just got back from a 4 Day Defensive Handgun there... had a great time! Instructors are great! Liked it so much I am buying a membership there even though I live here in Texas.

more details about the class please....

[KinnyLee]

more details about the class please....

There you go.

Day 1, Detailed Itinerary

Approximately 6:00 Leave Your Hotel
Day 1 gets off to an early start. Your drive to Front Sight will take about 30-minutes if you are staying in Pahrump or about an hour if you are staying in Las Vegas. Don’t speed along the way because the local law enforcement officers strictly patrol the highways to reduce fatalities. On rare occasion in the winter, the mountain pass between Las Vegas and Front Sight will be temporarily closed for snow removal. Have no fear, if you were delayed due to snow, so was everyone else. You won’t miss a thing.

6:30 – 7:00 Arrive at Front Sight
When you arrive at Front Sight, you will be greeted by a uniformed staff member at the front gate. Don’t be alarmed by the crisp uniform. Remember, this is not a boot camp. The staff wears distinctive uniforms so you can easily identify them. The staff member at the gate will give you a sheet of paper with some very basic directions to follow. The handout tells you where to park, what to take with you to Sign-In, where the Pro Shop is located, etc. If you require Handicapped Parking, we have numerous, well-marked spots right up front.


6:45 – 7:50 Sign-In
We have a large Sign-In table right in front of the ranges adjacent to the classroom. It is located in a very conspicuous spot and is well marked. You will again be greeted by a couple of staff members who will ask your name, look at your driver’s license, and ask what course you are taking. Additionally, if you want to be on the same range with friends, we will group you together. We will assign you a range number and then guide you to the “Dressing Area” and “Weapons Inspection”. This is where we make sure your holster, belt, magazines, and other gear are assembled correctly and that everything fits. We will then look at your gun, magazines, and ammunition. If something is amiss, we are able to sort it out right now, before the course starts. Safety is our primary goal at Front Sight…always has been and always will be. If you arrive with a weapon which is not suitable, we need to know before you get to the range. About 99% of all weapons which come through Weapons Inspection pass with flying colors. However, we sometimes spot a problem with the trigger, the safety, or some other feature. If you brought a backup weapon, we ask you to get it from your vehicle so we can take a look at it. If you did not bring a backup, we will get you setup with a rental weapon from the Pro Shop.

We also inspect your ammunition closely. Many of the malfunctions we see on the range stem from low-quality ammunition. At Front Sight we allow only factory new ammunition. We don’t allow reloaded or remanufactured ammunition. Similarly, we demand copper plated bullets for handguns and do not allow steel bullets for rifle. All these criteria may seem burdensome but they are for your safety.

Generally, the entire process of Sign-In, Dressing Area and Weapons Inspection takes less than 10 minutes. On occasion, we may spend longer, maybe even 30 minutes, getting someone’s equipment sorted out. But remember, it is much easier and smoother to fix problems NOW rather than wait until the course has started.

If you have reserved a rental gun from the Pro Shop, we will have it ready for you at Sign In. It will come in a kit with your name on it and also contain a holster, magazines, belt, and hearing protection. If you need to pick up a weapon you received through a Front Sight promotion, you will do so in the Pro Shop. The Pro Shop is located in the back portion of the main classroom building. The staff at Sign-In will direct you where to go.

The Pro Shop carries a variety of supplies you may need while on site including ammunition, belts, holsters, magazines, sunscreen, hats, and T-shirts. We do not offer gunsmithing services at Front Sight which is partly why we ask you to bring a backup weapon.


Following Weapons Inspection, the staff will ask you to place all of your bulky and heavy items in the car. You won’t need those things until a little later in the morning when you get to the range. If you are in a handgun course, you will leave your handgun in the holster for the entire day. Please don’t remove it from the holster until you are on the range and are receiving direction from the staff. We get pretty nervous when we see someone “fiddling” with a gun! If you are in a shotgun or rifle course, place the shotgun or rifle back in the car before heading to the classroom.

After depositing your gear in the vehicle, head to the classroom. At the front door of the classroom you will be greeted by the Classroom Manager who will also be in uniform. The Classroom Manager will verify that you have been through Weapons Inspection. The classroom is set up in a traditional lecture hall format with tables and chairs throughout the room and a stage up front. Pick any seat you like, but make sure it has a packet of papers and a pen. If you have a specific seating need for a wheelchair or anything else, simply tell the Classroom Manager. He or she will make it happen. While all the students are arriving, we play a DVD titled “Front Sight in the News, Volume 1” which highlights some of the very positive attention Front Sight has received from the news media over the years.

A wide variety of beverages and snacks are available in the classroom. You may also enjoy breakfast and/or lunch prepared by the Front Sight Café located just steps from the classroom.

8:00 Welcome and Introductory Lectures in the Classroom
At 8:00, the Operations Manager will step up on the stage and welcome you to Front Sight. You will notice that he starts at 8:00…not 8:01 and certainly not 8:02. This is by design and sends the clear message that we run the courses punctually.

9:15 Off to the Ranges
At 9:15 you will be dismissed from the classroom to head to your range. All the ranges are outdoors and have a shaded seating area and tables to hold your gear if needed. We supply water on the range to ensure that you stay hydrated. The desert is a demanding place and you need to stay hydrated, even during the winter months. You will also find basic first aid kits on each range containing items like Band-Aids, tape, aspirin, and Neosporin ointment. Feel free to use the first aid kits. You don’t need to ask us for permission, simply help yourself.

The range activities are headed up by a Front Sight Range Master. In addition to the Range Master, there will be two or three additional Instructors or Line Coaches on each range depending on the exercises being conducted at that particular time. The tone and demeanor of the range staff is firm but friendly. Safety is our number one priority at Front Sight and we work tirelessly to achieve it. We run the range in a very organized, predictable, firm manner to ensure safety for everyone. We also expect every student on the range to contribute to safety. If you witness something unsafe that the staff hasn’t seen, you are authorized to holler “Stop!” A full description of range commands are presented in this manual.

We divide the class into two relays, meaning two roughly equal groups. We simply identify the groups as Relay 1 and Relay 2. We use the two relays to make use of the “Shooter-Coach” training methodology. You will be on the firing line functioning as a shooter, obviously. Additionally, you will be up on the line functioning as a coach. This shooter-coach (or sometimes called student-coach) methodology has been used for decades with great success in other training venues. Examples of that are Martial Arts, SCUBA diving, corporate team development, and skydiving. The student-coach system is a tried and true way to learn. There are really three benefits to the shooter-coach program. First is safety. Having essentially a 1:1 ratio up on the firing line will make your training experience that much safer. Second, your grasp of a given subject matter significantly improves when you are tasked with helping others learn that material. And third, when you leave Front Sight, you will take with you the momentum you generated through the shooter-coach program and you will be able to continue training with your shooting partner. You will also be able to bring new people into this activity because, not only will you know the proper techniques, you will know how to DELIVER those techniques as well. For these reasons, you will definitely benefit from the shooter-coach program.

Front Sight firmly believes in “Dry Practice”. Dry practice is the process of practicing with an unloaded weapon. Some people erroneously refer to this as “dry firing” but you cannot fire a dry weapon. Dry practice allows you to engrain all the correct habits, all the proper muscle memory, without the stress, noise, and cost of live fire. Certainly, you also need to shoot live ammunition as part of your training, but most of your skill building occurs during dry practice. We believe in dry practice so much that we spend the entire first morning of the course strictly dry practicing. Similarly, we start each new technique with dry practice.

“Live Fire” is the process of actually shooting live ammunition. Live fire is the only way to verify you are correctly using the sights and correctly manipulating the trigger. You will definitely shoot lots of ammunition in your course but it only follows a period of concentrated dry practice.

The proper learning sequence to engrain a new skill is:

Lecture. This is where you learn about the skill from hearing the Range Master’s lecture to the class.
Demonstration. The instructional staff will demonstrate what the new skill or technique looks like when performed correctly.
Dry Practice. As described above, dry practice is the ideal way to engrain the new technique into muscle memory without any distractions or stress.
Live Fire. At some point, you actually have to shoot live ammo to verify you are engraining the proper skills.
Live Fire Under Stress. Last in the learning progression is live fire under the stress of time pressure, multiple targets, photographic targets, or tactical scenarios. This step will illuminate whether you have the skills available to you without conscious thought or if you need more practice.

12:00 – 1:00 Lunch and DVD
We break for lunch on Day 1 at straight-up noon. Wash your hands immediately after leaving every range session to make certain all lead residue is removed. If you ordered a lunch through our partner Beach Café, your lunch will be waiting for you in the classroom in a box with your name printed on it. You have a one-hour lunch break but we always use our time wisely. During lunch we play the DVD titled “The Front Sight Story, Chapter 1, Your Legacy”. This presentation beautifully describes our philosophies, our mission, and how we grew to dominate the industry in a few short years. If you have not yet seen this presentation, you will be impressed.

1:00 – 1:30 Classroom Lecture
Classroom lectures are a critical part of your training experience at Front Sight. The lectures are delivered by our seasoned Range Masters who are fully expert in the subject matter. Our first lecture is “The Color Code of Mental Awareness and the Combat Mindset”. This lecture is perhaps even more important than the gunhandling and marksmanship skills we teach you on the range because if you adopt this information as your very own, you will likely be able to avoid a gunfight. I don’t care what ANYONE says, the best gunfight is the one you can avoid!

1:30 – 5:00 Range Activities
Following the classroom lecture, you will head out to the ranges for the afternoon session. At the end of the afternoon, we guide you on your homework (yes, you will have homework!), how to return rental weapons to the Pro Shop, and how much ammunition to bring tomorrow morning. Remember to wash your hands upon leaving the range.

5:00 – 5:45 Classroom Lecture
The final classroom lecture of the day is “The Moral and Ethical Decisions Associated with the Use of Deadly Force”. At the conclusion of this lecture, you will fully understand the elements involved in deciding whether or not to shoot. That may sound peculiar, but this is a very involved subject which requires your full consideration.

5:45 Depart Front Sight
Days 2-4, General Itinerary

Days two through four start at 8:00 and conclude at either 5:00 or 5:45, depending on the day’s activities.

Additional classroom presentations include:

Problems 2 and 3 (Criminal and Civil Liability)
How to Select a Proper Defensive Handgun, Tactical Shotgun, Practical Rifle, and Precision Rife and Considerations Regarding Weapons Modifications
Tactical Movement
Front Sight First Family Membership Opportunity (optional)

Additional range activities include:

Presentation or “drawing” from the holster
Presentation from a concealed holster
Delivering a “Controlled Pair” (two shots to the thoracic cavity) to stop your opponent
“Failure to Stop” which is a headshot fired when the controlled pair failed to stop your opponent
Gunhandling drills such as Tactical Reload, Emergency Reload, Type 1 Malfunction, Type 2 Malfunction, and Type 3 Malfunction
Photographic targets
Multiple targets
Dry practice of tactical movement
Live fire tactical exercises

The final range exercise on Day 4 is the Skills Test, what some might call a “qualification course”. Understand, you are not actually “qualifying” for anything. This exercise is for you to gauge your progress over the last four days. Similarly, when you return to Front Sight in the future to take the 4-Day course again, the Skills Test gives you a quantitative benchmark for comparison. The Skills Test is also a valuable training aid because most people feel significant stress under “test” conditions. The Skills Test gives you a taste of the stress you will certainly feel if you are forced to use your weapon to protect yourself or a loved one. Performing well is more difficult under stress and the more you prepare for it, the better you will perform on the street.

At the conclusion of Day 4, you will receive a Course Certificate. We have three divisions of certificates based on the results of your Skills Test:

Distinguished Graduate (often referred to as “DG”). This certificate is for those who shot between 90-100% on the Skills Test. This is a very prestigious category and only a small percentage of our students receive a Distinguished Graduate certificate on their first trip to Front Sight.
Graduate. This certificate is for those who shot between 70-89% on the Skills Test.
Certificate of Achievement. This is for those who shot less than 70%. This is our baseline certificate and most of our students receive this certificate on their first trip to Front Sight. The Certificate of Achievement does not mean you “failed” the course. On the contrary, it is often the recipient of the Certificate of Achievement who has shown the greatest amount of improvement over the last four days!

[LAYGO]

Is this routinely free or was it something you had to offer to others for free?

[KinnyLee]

Is this routinely free or was it something you had to offer to others for free?

Hello,
I have offered twice. Schedule didn't seem to work out with anyone this time. I will write a report tonight or tomorrow.