You’ve probably seen their ads everywhere, but Exurban Kevin took a Front Sight Training course, and has an excellent review up here, here, here, and here, plus some overall conclusions:
Frankly, if I were a first-time shooter, I’d go with the NRA classes and private instruction with a proven teacher. Front Sight’s instruction was good, but their safety instruction, situational awareness training and after-action advice wasn’t up to what was taught in an NRA Personal Protection class. Plus, with an NRA class, you get a certification that is recognized nation-wide. With a Front Sight class, you get a certification that’s recognized in Pahrump, and bang for buck, I think an NRA class with a good teacher is the way to go. If you’re a new shooter and don’t know of a good NRA instructor in your area, then Front Sight is for you.
Front Sight has a good thing going, taking first-time gun owners and turning them into decent shooters and they certainly have a booming repeat business: Around half of the students in my class had a Front Sight membership of some kind or another. But are their Four Day Handgun Classes a good value for someone who already knows how to draw, shoot and hit center-mass twice in under two seconds?
In my opinion, no. But that’s just my body Thetans talkin’.
The last part is a joke. As he noted in the review, there wasn’t a hint of scientology in any of their training, and from what he’s seeing, it looks like Front Sight is the real deal when it comes to just being a training outfit.
I agree. My daughter and I did submachine gun class there some years ago. (Isn’t that the sort of father-daughter bonding you do?) I was pleased with the class, and not a whiff of Scientology.
Interesting. I still have that Free four day course certificate they offered some years back in exchange for running an ad on the blog. Wonder if they will still honor it.
Unfortunately, Front Sight is supporting a California “shall-issue” carry licensing initiative which is really bad.
I’m therefor boycotting Front Sight entirely, until they drop their dangerous initiative…
What’s wrong with that initiative? The only thing really bad or dangerous is an initiative that would remove the ability for law abiding gun owners to not only carry their weapons but to own them. California is in more danger than other states not because of the criminals on the streets, but because of the criminals in government that wish to restrict and cripple the good citizens of California therfore providing a great deal of support for the criminals on the streets. Would a gang banger be as willing to mess with me if he knew I was ready, willing and able in good conscience to take his life in favor of saving mine? He’d think twice and if that wasn’t enough he’d be rendered uncapable of thinking again. If that happened a little more the result would be that there would quickly be less need for it to happen at all. Not as much crime(Still a lot due to human nature but not as much as California) going on in Texas and Wyoming. Why? Because in California the Criminals are guaranteed 70-80% success and personal safety due to tight restrictions. Texas, Wyoming, Alaska the playing field is equal and a homie might end up dead real easily for their efforts.
A: Thanks for the link.
B: Their training is worth it if you don’t already know how to draw and quickly deliver the shot from concealment. If you do, then they really don’t adjust their training to suit four skill level.
C: I’m fortunate that I was taught by an NRA Senior Training Counselor. He’s a guy who trains the guys who trains you how to shoot in NRA classes. If you know someone like that, go with them. If not, and you’re a beginner, Front Sight will do.
D: No timeshare pitch either.
E: Anyone want to buy a slightly used e-meter?
A friend has a fist-full of free courses and wants me to go with him. My main problem is it’s in NV and more distant than I like to travel, and I don’t have any money for that – you have to travel – so even a “free” course doesn’t help with lodging and all the other costs. I’ll look around here for a class. I hear Lew Awerbuck is good?
They do have more advanced courses than the four-day, to address that issue. Still, I thought that even in the four-day they did an excellent job adjusting to the various skill levels. Sure, I didn’t learn a whole lot that was new but I got a lot of advice and good coaching.