Shot gun Training..Worth it?

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Tady45

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I do not feel as confortable, with my Rem 870 as I do with my 223. I have not shot it much, and yet, feel that it a short ranged situation, this is the weapon of choice, that I would use. Anyway, I called this range in Los Angeles, that provides trianing with a SG. The guy called me back, and said that yes, they have training about $130.00 bucks for a half day or so shooting, clearing houses etc. How about cleaning he rifle etc, he did not say. When i asked his back ground, he went into this rant about how just beacuse you were a Navy Seal, or a fromer LEO, did not mean that others or civilans etc, could not train you etc??? Moral of the story, is that he was some blow hard, who did not have military or Leo training, who further implied that most Cops can't shoot anway! He did state however, that when i'm done with you, you will be able to shoot your SG better than a Navy Seal...! He also proudly mentioned that he was NRA certified...What would you gents recommend?

Larry in The City of Angels
 
move out of california :rolleyes:



on a more serious note... find some place with decent facilities and a reputation.
 
Actually, you should hook up with the Norco shooters. Cant remember the name of their league, but I'm sure they have shotgun side matches. A little *friendly* competition helps the ol' learning curve.
 
I would seek out competent instruction elsewhere. $130 for 1/2 day, 4 hours and in that amount of time he's going to have you clearing rooms? :what:

In most classes you'll spend 2-3 hours just going over safety and the nomenclature, ammuntion selection, how to "run" your shotgun, any little quirks your particular make and model may exhibit and what other equipment you may or may not need.

You will need to pattern your shotgun with various loads and zero it for slugs. You can't shoot accurately unless you know where your rounds are going to go.

It will take many repetitions of loading, mounting the gun, drills like select slug, and engaging targets, both single and multiple at various ranges. Then you'll need to shoot from various positions, while moving and turning. Add in some instruction on transitions to the handgun, and use of a weapon mounted and hand held light and you're ready to take your first baby steps towards clearing a room.

No one can do this in 1/2 day.

For about $450.00 you can get real instruction from recognized instructors like Louis Awerbuck, James Yeager from Tactical Response, Greg Sullivan etc. That $450 will buy you 3 days of intense traning and then maybe you'll be ready to start clearing rooms.

Jeff
 
I'm a shotgun newbie so my opinions should be taken with the requisite NaCL but if I were in So Cal I would be at ITSS.

They have a Shotgun II class coming up in November that will be taught by Louis Awerbuck. I wonder if they would let you audit the classroom portion.

Check out the review of one of their classes.

Dan
 
I would agree that you do not need to be an ex-seal to train someone but this does not sound like a good deal to me.
The NRA cert is good as well.
In a half a day, you could pattern your gun (buck, bird & shot) and do some clearing drills that might help you get a better understanding of what you and your SG can do. Probably be out of time after that.
Were I you, I'd look for a two-day course. I am sure that some folks here could recommend a few.
Mike

PS. In the mean time I would suggest that you go clay bustin' as often as you can. There is no faster way to get "comfortable" with your SG than Sporting Clays, Trap or Skeet.
 
You don't need LE or military experience to teach a basic shotgun class. No offense to our LE or Mil members of course, but a level I class is pretty straight forward.

However that price is pretty outrageous for that amount of time. If you are going to spend serious money, I would seek out some of the instructors that Jeff mentioned. I've heard good things about all of those gentlemen.

And even if you do take some classes, you need to practice a lot ot get your skill/manipulation level up. I recommend shooting 3gun matches. Watch the good shooters there, and ask them lots of questions. Keep an open mind, question everything, and keep shooting.
 
$130 for four hours? Pure Caca Del Toro....

Get good instruction, meanwhile go shoot skeet, trap or SC with your defensive tool.
 
I took a two day Rob Haught shotgun/pistol class in Chino, CA a few weeks ago for $450. So I don't think California is the problem (in this case at least) just the potential instructor. $150 for half a day is steep from anyone but especially from someone with no btdt experience. Just shop around more. ITTS was mentioned and there are several trainers that travel around so keep looking and do go get some training.

-David
 
"...Worth it?"

Yes.

I went to Firearms Training Associates (FTA) www.ftatv.com at Raahauge's in Norco. They offer their shotgun course in two days- Basic and Advanced. They raised their rates lately, but I paid $125/day at about 7 hours/day. The head instructor is a Huntington Beach swat cop and is on board with Surefire.

Personally, I considered the Gunsite video I watched beforehand to be like the "lecture" portion of the class with the two day course in Norco to be the "lab". You can get all the "theory" of a basic two day course in a video, but it definitely helps to have the hands on experience in the live fire drills with instructors watching you.
 
He was right about one thing, most cops can't shoot.

Instead of worrying about their background or how many times they've been mentioned in magazines, post the name and ask if anyone has taken the class and has anything to say about it. There are good trainers out there that aren't famous and a good bargain.
 
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