Front sight academy

[mpmarty]

Anyone been there? I just bought a four day for myself and SWMBO.
Clue me in on what to expect please.

[jimmeyjack]

No reloads allowed. The 4 day course will require about 900 factory rounds. You don't want to buy your ammo there either:-( It is fun.

[ept000]

I have done it three time and really enjoy it. I didn't agree with every single thing, but for the most part it is very good training. Expect to be tired when it's all over.

[fredj338]

I've been to a couple fo diff two day classes, 7-8hrs a day is about all I want to be on a range at one stretch. THe instructors are great. I don't agree w/ everything they teach, but you are free to take away what ever you want, use this or that as you continue your training.

[NuJudge]

Try to do what they train you to do, even if you do not agree with it. They pay a lot of attention to things they feel are important, such as holstering and jam clearance. Your first trip there, you will not get the hang of their jam clearance drills.

[fredj338]

Try to do what they train you to do, even if you do not agree with it. They pay a lot of attention to things they feel are important, such as holstering and jam clearance. Your first trip there, you will not get the hang of their jam clearance drills.
You may get the hang of malfunction drills, but onyl through practice will you get good at them. A lot of practice!

[Blake Stephenson]

I took an AR armoers (sp) class yesterday. Well done and fun. The owner is a jacka** but he is almost never there. Some of the instructors are great guys.

Blake

[Crash_Corrigan]

I agree with my shooting buddy Blake as above. RE: owner I have no opinion. I took the 2 day tactical shotgun course. I really got a lot out of it. We learned that you could expect really good accuracy from your 12 pump at 7 yds.

Using OO buckshot we were shooting hostage takers who were hiding behind their hostages. This means that only about 1/2 of their heads were visible next to the head of the hostages on a paper target. We fired at the hostage takers at 7 yds and if you kept your hold on the outside edge of the hostage takers head all the buckshot missed the hostage and you had about 1/2 of the buckshot hitting the hostage taker. I had no idea that buckshot could be so accurate.

Then we were working on rifled slugs at 50 and 75 yds on man sized targets. Again I was amazed at the accuracy potential of the 12 gauge pump shotgun. I was getting 6 inch groups at 75 yds with a Fiocchi Low Recoil 12 gau slug.

Oh yeah, the Fiocchi low recoil buckshot and slugs are the way to go. I also used some Remington #4 buckshot Pheasant Loads and those babies are stout to say the least. I can shoot Fiocchi Low Recoils all day long but the Remmies hurt after a while.

Again like Blake said the instructors are totally professional and courteous and not judgemental. If you screw up you will be taken to the side and counselled. Count on it. They are pretty much zero tolerance safety wise and go to extremes to make sure that every one has a safe and interesting day.

They insisted on everyone having a sling for their shotgun and when not shooting the weapon they wanted the gun slung upright on the right shoulder and your hand on the gun, not the sling. Or that shotgun was loaded in a rack with all the others whilst classes were going on.

I was kinda annoyed that I was not allowed to use my shotgun for the course. It is a copy of the '97 Winchester pump and does not have a safety other than the half cock feature and they would not let me use it for the course.

I am not a user of safeties on a shotgun. I do not trust them. In my mind the best safety is the brain not some mechanical device. However I was forced to use the safety on the Mossberg 590 I was issued. I cannot tell you how many times I tried to squeeze a round off and found the safety engaged and I had to bumble and fumble that silly thing off.

My Dad's slide button safety on the Baker side by side 12 on which I learned how to shoot shotgun worked sometimes. But not all the time. The old Baker which I bought last year also has a part time safety. I had the gunsmith remove it totally to prevent confusion.

They taught us malfunction drills over and over and over again until we would be able to do it in our sleep. The instruction is top notch and useful however I do not agree with some of the positional shooting we were doing. They were teaching us to remain perpendicular to the target in prone and I found that if I cocked my legs over the left at about a 30 to 40 degree angle I could be more comfortable and engage the target easier. They were right on as regards to keeping the feet on their sides to provide a more stable platform and such and were again spot on regarding the kneeling and sitting positions.

We individually went through a WALK THE VALLEY OF DEATH scenario with an instructor and engaged various targets at various ranges and had to make decisions on whom to shoot, whom not to shoot, what ammo to use at various distances. If found this very interesting and valuable training that used some of the drills we had been doing previously. Here we were loaded with buckshot and facing a target at over 40 yds we had to estimate the range and unload that buckshot round from the chamber and load a rifled slug and engage the target quickly.

Using both paper and steel targets I quickly again realized that the 12 pump or semi-auto shotgun is the best defensive weapon that you will ever be able to use. From point blank out to 75 yds the 12 gauge reigns supreme with the proper training.

I was shooting yesterday at paper targets at about 15 yds with my wife. She was breaking in a new 9 MM pistol and I was just having fun. After the two targets were pretty much ready for replacement I unlimbered the 12 gauge and loaded with 6 Double Ought rounds proceeded to blow out the centers of both targets PDQ. This was the gun I was not allowed to use at Front Sight but I quickly realized that albiet without a safety or a sling it still would get the job done with prejudice.

Living in a Mobile Home Park with neighbors all round I load my pump with #4 buckshot. It will get the job done anywhere inside my trailer and yet any rounds missing the target will quickly dissapate their energy and not be able to take out grandma across the street behind her trailer wall. It's gonna make some nasty holes in her Aluminum sheathing and scratch up her car but it ain't gonna put her in the hospital. However for my targets inside of 45 feet in the trailer......Lights OUT!

Front Sight is a very nice facility. However I do believe that they are somewhat overpriced and when I inquired about CCW training for my wife the $500 cost before ammunition requirements for a one day course will lead me elsewhere.