Training Schools List

dctag

New member
Here is my list of several schools. I put the main instructor next to some of the schools names.


Combat Shooting and Tactics Paul Howe
http://www.combatshootingandtactics.com/index.html


Practical Firearms Training Pat Goodale
http://www.pgpft.com/Default.htm

10-8 Consulting
http://www.10-8consulting.com/

Trident Concepts Jeff Gonzales
http://www.tridentconcepts.com/index.asp

Backyard Outfitters
http://www.woolrichelite.com/training.htm

Rogers Shooting School Bill Rogers
http://www.rogers-shooting-school.com/

EAG Tactical Pat Rogers
http://www.eagtactical.com/

ITTS Scott Reitz
http://www.internationaltactical.com/index.asp

Triple Canopy
http://www.triplecanopy.com/triplecanopy/en/train/index.php

MISS
http://www.weaponstraining.com/

Gunsite
http://www.gunsite.com/

ATS Tactical
http://www.atstactical.com/

Blackwater
http://www.blackwaterusa.com/

BSR
http://www.bsr-inc.com/

Thunder Ranch Clint Smith
http://www.thunderranchinc.com/

Chapman Academy Ray Chapman
http://chapmanacademy.com/about.shtml

Defense Training International John Farnam
http://www.defense-training.com/

Olive Security (Formerly T.E.E.S) Alan Brosnan
http://www.tees-training.com/

Operational Tactics Stuart Meyers
http://www.operationaltactics.org/

ITG
http://www.itg4.com/

Rifles Only
http://www.riflesonly.com/

PDT David Blinder
http://www.personaldefensetraining.com/

SCG International
http://www.scgonline.net/

Sevigny Performance Dave Sevigny
http://www.sevignyperformance.com/

Storm Mountain Training
http://www.stormmountain.com/

Strategos International Ken Good
http://strategosintl.com/

TFTT Max Joseph
http://www.tftt.com/

Tactical Response James Yeager
http://www.tacticalresponse.com/

TTOS David Scott-Donelan
http://members.aol.com/mantrack/index.htm

HSS International
http://www.hssinternational.com/

Valhalla Rob Pincus
http://www.valhallatraining.com/

Viking Tactics Kyle Lamb
http://www.vikingtactics.com/

Yavapai Firearms Louis Awerbuck
http://www.yfainc.com/

Talon Tactical Mike Benedict
http://www.talontactical.com/

Tactical Waterborne Training
http://www.twoboatguy.com/index.html

McMillan Sniper School
http://www.sniperschool.org/

Practical Shooting Academy Ron Avery
http://www.practicalshootingacad.com/

CRTC Bennie Cooley
http://www.benniecooley.com/

Crucible/Kroll Kelly Mcann
http://www.krollworldwide.com/services/security/protection/

D&L Sports Dave Lauck
http://www.dlsports.com/npage6a.html

Glock Training
http://www.glocktraining.com/

Diamondback Tactical
http://www.diamondbacktactical.com/index.aspx

Team Spartan
http://www.teamspartan.com/index.htm

Hoffners
http://www.hoffners.com/info.htm

Rob Leatham
http://www.robleatham.com/

Matt Burkett
http://www.mattburkett.com/

Jerry Barnhart
http://www.jerrybarnhart.com/

Walt Rauch
http://www.eastontacticalops.com/rauch/rauch.html

Operational Skills Group
http://www.opskillsgroup.com/

Morrigan Consulting Bill Jeans
http://www.morrigan-consulting.com/

Cumberland Tactics Randy Cain
http://www.guntactics.com/

Tac Pro
http://www.tacproshootingcenter.com/

Insights Training Greg Hamilton
http://www.insightstraining.com/view_bio.asp?instructorID=3

ESI
http://www.esi-lifeforce.com/Default.htm

Southern Exposure
http://southernexposuretraining.com/

Defensive Edge
http://www.defensive-edge.net/

Khyber Interactive
http://www.khybertraining.com/

Control Concepts Jim Walters
http://www.ccijax.com/

Countermeasures Tactical Douglas Pechtel
http://www.countermeasure.com/pages/1/index.htm

Outdoor Specialties
http://odspec.com/indexa.html

Bondurant
http://www.bondurant.com/

MVM
http://www.mvminc.com/index.htm

Firearms Academy of Seattle Marty Hayes
http://www.firearmsacademy.com/

Lethal Force Institute Massad Ayoob
http://www.ayoob.com/

Options For Personal Security Andy Stanford
http://www.optionsforpersonalsecurity.com/

Shootrite
http://www.shootrite.org/

SigArms
http://www.sigarmsacademy.com/

Weapons Academy
http://www.weaponsacademy.com/

Frank Garcia
http://www.frankgarciausa.com/

Surefire Institute
http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/strfnbr/10/pgname/Home

Tactical Defense
http://www.tdiohio.com/

APT Academy
http://www.aptacademy.com/index.html

Range Master Tom Givens
http://www.rangemaster.com/

Midwest Training
http://www.midwesttraininggroup.net/

Critical Reaction Training
http://www.criticalreaction.com/

The FARM
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/farmpolicesupply/training.html

ASAA Chuck Taylor
http://www.chucktaylorasaa.com/

Action Target
http://www.actiontarget.com/_law/training/index.html

Singleton International Phil Singleton
http://www.philsingleton.com/index.html

Blauer Tactical Tony Blauer
http://www.tonyblauer.com/

Center Mass
http://www.centermassinc.com/638277.html

Badlands
http://www.badlandstactical.net/

Security Driver Tony Scotti
http://www.securitydriver.com/

Steve Tarani
http://stevetarani.com/

Linxx Academy Frank Cucci
http://www.linxxacademy.com/whylinxx/

The Site Hershel Davis
http://www.shoot-at-the-site.com/default.htm

Depot Training
http://www.depottraining.net/

ShivWorks Southnarc
http://www.shivworks.com./

PFC Training
http://www.pfctraining.com/

Tactical Shooting
http://www.tacticalshooting.com/

Tactical Security
http://www.tacticalsecuritynetwork.com/

HK
http://www.hkdefense.us/
 
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Sting1004

New member
McMillan Sniper School - Stay Away

10 April 2006

Mr. William Graves
G P S, LLC.
P.O. Box 14481
Scottsdale, AZ 85267

Re: Sniper School Class 03-05 April 2006

Dear William:

As you may recall, I and three team mates attended the above captioned class. I?m writing you now to provide the collective feedback on our experience.

First let me state that we are not military, law enforcement or private contractors. We took this week away from our businesses and jobs to attend your course, which we funded personally. When you consider tuition, airfare, hotel, etc. the cost was not insignificant! I did a fair amount of research including a thorough reading of your web site and several conversations with you, which I compared against your competition. We had an expectation. Sadly, it was not met.

Overall we are very disappointed in our experience. Let me try to break it down by day:

Sunday ? No clear directions were provided to your unmarked range. We had quite a time finding it! Fortunately we had the good sense to check it out early and were lucky that someone was even there when we arrived. We happened to catch Rick on site.

Monday ? By and large, a waste of time! This course date had to be on your calendar for at least six months. How can there possibly be a conflict?
1. The instructors had a planned start time 11:00 AM. After 2 hours of standing around, we had to leave the range because of a pornographic photo session. Brilliant!
2. The school consistently promises, ?When we say 10 hrs, we mean 10 hrs of instruction.? Also, not only did we not ?shoot low-light EVERY night? we finished the day early without firing a single shot.
3. There was no written syllabus for the course provided. It was clear they were loosely following some ?guideline?.
4. Not one instructor had a spotting scope or even field glasses. This would have greatly facilitated coaching and the zeroing process.
5. Your web-site equipment lists, both required and recommended, need work. Rather than list some neat stuff, please give it some real thought as to what is actually needed and be clear about it!
6. The class size was 20 shooters instead of the usual 12 (more on this later)
7. Insufficient ammunition ? we had reserved and were issued 1,000 rounds in advance. We had go give half back because of the lack of ammo.






Mr. William Graves
10 April 2006
Page 2


One person had sent 1,000 rounds to your school in advance. The ammo was lost until late Wednesday afternoon.
8. More time lost driving to the McMillan site. There we (all 20 of us) suffered through a tour of the already cramped factory. While mildly interesting, that was not the purpose of our trip! The instructors were filling time!
9. The classroom work was done in an equally cramped lunch room. Thad gave the presentation. He is a qualified, knowledgeable presenter, but 20 people had to strain to see a laptop screen. There was no projection device or the obvious Handouts of the presentation. Tiring, boring and disappointing.
10. The Best part of the day was when we attempted to set up our optics. However, this too was frustrating. You did not have enough instructors to properly serve the class (more on this later)! Imagine 20 guys sprawled out in a parking lot trying to gain proper optical alignment with only 3 instructors! Not what we expected or paid for!

As regards the instructors, Rick, Jack, Thad and Harley are all fine Americans who are well qualified and each a very capable instructor in their own right. I particularly like Jack?s style. However, one has to question their overall commitment. I heard repeatedly ?Hey, tell it to William, I?m just a contractor.? They felt, and so they acted, like contractors and it showed. Thad was there only for the classroom and a few hours on the range. Harley was only half time at best as they had him doing things around the range and running errands. So that meant 2.5 instructors for 20 shooters. Not the 1 to 4 you advertised or that the instructors told us was the usual ratio. Also, we are very disappointed that you were not there administering the school and delivering training yourself.

Tuesday ? Again, a planned 11:00 AM start!!!!! Wasted time as we got minimal productive time on the range. More discussions and a painfully slow zeroing session.
Now, this is a Very sore point; the instructors expected us to arrive with Zeroed Weapons. You repeatedly told us Not to zero our weapons. Had we done so we would have had more time to learn and enjoy a more productive experience. You repeatedly told me Not to shoot in advance! A serious breakdown in communications and policy.

With only 2.5 instructors per 20 shooters, we did not get the attention we deserved (at this ratio we received roughly less than half the time a 1 to 4 would have provided). Fortunately, three of us are experienced, but one in my team could have Really used more coaching!

I don?t believe the entire class successfully zeroed weapons this day. And again, 20 shooters could not comfortably fit on the range. Not a productive day, which put us way behind. After a heated group discussion at the end of the day, the instructors reluctantly agreed to start earlier on Wednesday (9:00 AM).

Wednesday - With a 9:00 AM start and minimal conversation, we actually got to shoot some distances. However, with such a large group it was a long and slow march through 100 and 200 yds. By the time we got to the 300-500 yd targets it was late

Mr. William Graves
10 April 2006
Page 3


afternoon and we had to rush to get them all in. Did I mention that the class was understaffed? Little to no coaching as the instructors seemed to be spending their time with a few select shooters. Because we had to rush to get at least the 300-500 targets hit before dark, we never shot longer distances or had time to properly establish dope for the various ranges. This is a major disappointment as doing so was the fundamental purpose for attending the school.

To summarize, this was a good group of guys who improvised, adapted and tried to get the most out of it. This is a testament to the men, not to your school. It does nothing to change the fact that we all feel the school is poorly run and we definitely did not get our moneys worth. I had the impression the school and the quality of your training was important to you. Clearly, you have other interests that take priority. Your sniper school has the potential to be the best of its kind! However, it?s run more like an affectation than an avocation! A full time administrator to oversee training operations, a crack, Dedicated instructor staff, and an uncompromising commitment to quality and customer service can make it the best of its kind! You also need consistency. Not surprisingly, I learned that the previous three classes were as much a cluster-f__k as this one was. I wonder how the McMillan family feels about having their name associated with this.

I will await your response. I?ll be very interested to see, from a customer service perspective, how you address our dissatisfaction. It would be unfortunate if someone asked my opinion of McMillan Sniper School today.



Regards,
 

revjen45

Moderator
Having attended Insights and FAS when I lived in WA State I can speak well of both. They were organized, the instructors were competent, there was no wasted time, and I got what I paid for. Can't ask for more than that.
 

hso

New member
Robin Brown trains both at his place in AZ and on the road.

He came to Knoxville in April to present the Integrated Threat Focused Training/Quick Kill and is going to be back the weekend of Oct. 14/15.

Having had the training I can tell you that I thought the material was excellent and Robin made it easy and enjoyable to learn.

You can email Robin at - arizonaqkr@yahoo.com

http://www.pointshooting.com/qk.htm
 

Bigfatts

New member
I just went through and took my D and G security license classes. I took them at a place called S2 Safety and Intelligence Institute. What an amazing bunch of instructors! They teach everything from basic pistol and self-defense classes to Anti-terrorism, advanced pistol and carbine and also weapon retention and secondary weapon system techniques. Jay Pace, my instructor for both classes could not be any better of a teacher. He spent time in the military and retired from the Largo, Florida Police Department. It was an absolute wonder to spend time with him during the classes. He also teaches Constitutional Law among other things. If you live near the Tampa Florida area and need to take any of these types of classes, go here first. You won't be disappointed, I wasn't.

http://www.s2institute.com/
 

RedPhnx

New member
Wow, this is still up, I'll sit down tommrow and completly update the list with all of your input.

Jason I.
 

RedPhnx

New member
Ok, I have the list completly updated and organized by state and then alphabatized inside of the states. All the sites suggested by you guys that had working links have been added. I'll post it as soon as I get home from work.
 

Dog Confetti

New member
It's not a pure shooting school, and I'm not sure what they offer for civilians, but Gryphon Group MFPC was OUTSTANDING...I cannot overstate how good they are!
 

Big Don

New member
T F T T

Tactical Firearms Training Team was lumped into the (very well done) long list of schools and I want to give Max Joseph an attaboy of my own. I've known Max for a long time, have attended multiple courses he or his hand-picked cadre have taught and have been extremely pleased with all of them. I earned my "Black Shirt" after successfully completing all three levels of handgun training and that is one of my proudest moments. The topper to that was my son, at the age of 16, earning his Black Shirt, the youngest to do so. Max watched him grow up, knew he was safe and skilled with a firearm and that's the only reason he was allowed to take the courses.

Many an LEO has walked away from Handgun Level 1 or 2, mumbling to themselves about the level of training they had received in their academies and how glad they were to be in the TFTT classes.

Max, a former Marine, wanted to bring Gunsite-level training to those of us who couldn't afford to travel to AZ and he met that goal. He will travel to your location if you can make it financially feasible and he's not a greedy man. Check out his web site and read his CV. He's an outstanding trainer and a good man.
www.tftt.com
 
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King_chin0

Moderator
Missouri and Kansas

Targets Master Shooting Academy

Patricia Stoneking is the owner of Target Master Shooting Academy and she is very knowledgeable. She is very kind, and very charismatic. She is enthusiast abut getting you to shoot better and help you achieve your standards and higher. I would definately suggest it to everyone. From what I see, most of the owner of the instructor that you requested to recieve lessons from are not the instructors you will see, and I am happy to say that Patricia Stoneking will be right there with you.

http://www.targetmastershootingacademy.com/
 
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