Behind Sight on Front Sight
My 18 year old son and I just returned from a handgun defense training course at Front Sight near Las Vegas. This was an all weekend long affair, starting promptly at 8:00 in the morning, ending at 6:45PM on Saturday and 5:40PM on Friday. This course is one of many weapons training courses that Front Sight offers. We took the 2-Day Handgun Defense Course. There is also a 4-Day Handgun Defense Course, skill-building courses, and more advanced tactical courses for handguns. They also have courses for rifle, shotgun, automatic weapons, and many other courses.
The first thing I was impressed with after driving out in the middle of the dessert, about 45 miles southwest of Las Vegas, was that there were hundreds of people at the center at 8:00 AM on Saturday. I later found out that Front Sight trains more people than all the other domestic training operations in the nation. The second thing I was impressed with was the quality of the instructors and training programs (perhaps this is why so many people). They have instructors who were former military, former law enforcement, and with credentials a mile long in the number of skills they have mastered. Most of these guys are masters in many weapons, and often with both hands. That is perhaps why law enforcement comes to Front Sight to get trained. Ex-military and ex-cops say the training at Front Sight is much better than what they got previously. In fact, even SWAT team instructors go to Front Sight to get trained so they can train their crew correctly.
The third thing I was impressed with was their sense of purpose. They have as a major goal the education of the public so as to raise their awareness of the importance of the Second Amendment and to create a positive image in the community of gun ownership. They have public relations programs going which seem to be working well judging by the amount of positive press generated. One campaign targets opinion leaders, knowing that when opinion leaders say something others will follow. They freely allow press into the premises for interviews and video, with one provision. They have to take a course first.
Our Rangemaster was an ex-military drill instructor, and had a bit of that stereotypical movie drill sergeant mid-west twang. But he had a bit of sense of humor ("Are you trying to hit a midget's knees?") and was likable enough. The Drillmaster and the other 3 instructors in our class would lecture a little, show us by example how it is done, and then drill us on the range. It was taken slowly, little bit at a time, building up the various skills needed to safely use a handgun for self-defense. But mainly, it was drill, drill, drill. I never knew there were so many skills involved in properly handling and using a weapon. There were also tactical drills; drills on how to handle yourself in a gun fight, or situation requiring deadly force. We even got to train in a simulation room (with live ammo), where good guys and bad guys pop up and you need to decide quickly whether to shoot and where.
It was interesting to note that despite my pre-conceived notions of how it would feel to be in around a bunch of guys packing handguns, while we sat in the lecture hall having lunch, with perhaps 100 guys (and gals) with guns, I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. In fact it felt very secure.
There was also the thinking side of the training. We had several classes, the majority taught by a former Sheriff's deputy, on the ethical and legal side of the use of handguns. He had us put ourselves in the situations where one would, or would not, need to use a gun and think through what we would do, and if we really wanted to. The idea is to get the hesitations out by deciding as much as possible ahead of time instead of being in indecision in a critical situation. Also, the legal implications, both criminal and civil, are quite stupendous. Well, worth knowing ahead of time.
All in all, we learned a huge amount about how to use and defend ourselves with handguns. What we also learned was there was a huge amount more to know and learn. To be a responsible citizen with a handgun, it is an ongoing process requiring practice and training.
www.frontsight.com
The first thing I was impressed with after driving out in the middle of the dessert, about 45 miles southwest of Las Vegas, was that there were hundreds of people at the center at 8:00 AM on Saturday. I later found out that Front Sight trains more people than all the other domestic training operations in the nation. The second thing I was impressed with was the quality of the instructors and training programs (perhaps this is why so many people). They have instructors who were former military, former law enforcement, and with credentials a mile long in the number of skills they have mastered. Most of these guys are masters in many weapons, and often with both hands. That is perhaps why law enforcement comes to Front Sight to get trained. Ex-military and ex-cops say the training at Front Sight is much better than what they got previously. In fact, even SWAT team instructors go to Front Sight to get trained so they can train their crew correctly.
The third thing I was impressed with was their sense of purpose. They have as a major goal the education of the public so as to raise their awareness of the importance of the Second Amendment and to create a positive image in the community of gun ownership. They have public relations programs going which seem to be working well judging by the amount of positive press generated. One campaign targets opinion leaders, knowing that when opinion leaders say something others will follow. They freely allow press into the premises for interviews and video, with one provision. They have to take a course first.
Our Rangemaster was an ex-military drill instructor, and had a bit of that stereotypical movie drill sergeant mid-west twang. But he had a bit of sense of humor ("Are you trying to hit a midget's knees?") and was likable enough. The Drillmaster and the other 3 instructors in our class would lecture a little, show us by example how it is done, and then drill us on the range. It was taken slowly, little bit at a time, building up the various skills needed to safely use a handgun for self-defense. But mainly, it was drill, drill, drill. I never knew there were so many skills involved in properly handling and using a weapon. There were also tactical drills; drills on how to handle yourself in a gun fight, or situation requiring deadly force. We even got to train in a simulation room (with live ammo), where good guys and bad guys pop up and you need to decide quickly whether to shoot and where.
It was interesting to note that despite my pre-conceived notions of how it would feel to be in around a bunch of guys packing handguns, while we sat in the lecture hall having lunch, with perhaps 100 guys (and gals) with guns, I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. In fact it felt very secure.
There was also the thinking side of the training. We had several classes, the majority taught by a former Sheriff's deputy, on the ethical and legal side of the use of handguns. He had us put ourselves in the situations where one would, or would not, need to use a gun and think through what we would do, and if we really wanted to. The idea is to get the hesitations out by deciding as much as possible ahead of time instead of being in indecision in a critical situation. Also, the legal implications, both criminal and civil, are quite stupendous. Well, worth knowing ahead of time.
All in all, we learned a huge amount about how to use and defend ourselves with handguns. What we also learned was there was a huge amount more to know and learn. To be a responsible citizen with a handgun, it is an ongoing process requiring practice and training.
www.frontsight.com
posted by Eclectricz at
1:38 PM
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