Additional Courses (Defensive Shooting) Beyond CPL?

[simplyjennifer]

I'm a novice shooter. I'm taking my CPL course this weekend, and I'll be optimistic that I'll pass. I don't intend to carry, CPL or not, until I am certain that I'm ready to defend myself properly. I'm not going to count on a one-day class to teach me everything I need to know.

I live in Mid-Michigan. I see that Advanced Ranges in Burton has some defensive shooting courses that require a CPL - could anyone suggest any others?

[Capt Cook]

Some suggestions for you. Go to the local range and tell them you are a new shooter and you would like some help and advice. They can direct you to some people and maybe even stear you away from some others. They might even give you some basic instruction and drill you on the safety rules.
Youtube has tons of stuff for you. Look up Massad Ayoob and Todd Jarrett for plenty of videos. Look up your specific gun for shooting and cleaning tips.
Unload your gun, put the ammo away, check your gun 3 more times and then do some dry fire practice and draw from your holster. You can do this as often as you like and the youtube vids will help you with this as well.
Find your local IDPA group after you have some practice under your belt and you can get some decent training for a good price. It's best to use your carry gun for IDPA since that is what it is really all about.

[Phillip Gain]

I would also recommend:

NRA Personal Protection in the Home
NRA Personal Pretection Outside The Home
NRA Basic Pistol (some CPL courses don't include much shooting..this does)
NRA Basic Shotgun (shotguns make the BEST home defense firearm)

Also (especially if you find the cost of regular practice to be prohibitive) I would recommend purchasing a .22 caliber pistol such as a Ruger Mk III, to ensure you get plenty of practice time in.

[swsd40]

Jennifer, i also live in mid-michigan. (near st johns) that place in burton and a location in mason are about the only places in the area offering formal training. The Smith & Wesson web site offers professional classes but those are out of state. fortunately I live out of city limits and have acreage to go out back and practice practice practice practice practice. If you find a place, please post, I will do like wise.

[simplyjennifer]

I just wanted to thank you all for your suggestions. I've signed up for one defensive shooting course at my range, and I know it won't be my only class!

And swsd40 - I was just told about the Dog and Gun Club in the Corunna/Owosso area - they don't have a web site, but they sound like they may be a good deal. I need to call them to verify range hours and whether they have (hopefully) range space shorter than 25 yards.

[Punch]

You can also save up some money and go to one of the many professional training sites in the US such as Gunsite, or attend Bob Pincus' ICE training when it comes to a location near to you. You may find that some local security companies offer advanced training, as Signal 88 does here in Omaha. Also, try to find a "blue gun" for your make and model of firearm and practice drawing (using both strong and weak hands) extensively (this will be an eye opening experience and may well change how you carry your gun). If you carry a Glock, you can find a plastic training barrel for the weapon that will allow you to use the actual weapon as a training aid, and they also make a training magazine that duplicates the weight of a loaded magazine. Another thing that you cannot do enough is to load magazines with dummy rounds and practice magazine changes (or speedloading if you use a revolver). Practice over and over again until the mag "slides right in" nearly every time you do it. Dummies also let you practice malfunction drills, including double feeds that can be tricky to clear. When you are at the range, load a few dummies in random locations in your magazines and then mix them up so you don't know where they are in any given magazine. This will help you learn to clear malfunction and swap magazines quickly. Much of this will be learned in the better advanced classes, but there is no reason that you cannot work on these yourself.

[Sheldon]

Gabe Suarez.. heck of a trainer....Suarez International

[SteakNEggs]

Sheridan Arms LLC. in Saginaw has Advance/Defensive Handgun classes (three levels I think).

I haven't completed any of them but they are good people.

[6shootercarry]

Front Sight Firearms Training Institute, Nevada..

Take the 4 Day Defensive Handgun course... Worth it... By Far...

Gun training | Firearms Training

[TekGreg]

Jennifer, I was able to come up with some advanced training sites in your state without too much trouble. All of them offer classes beyond the CCW/CPL so be sure to look into them thoroughly. I hope this helps.

SPARTAN TACTICAL TRAINING GROUP & THE TEAM SPARTAN NETWORK - TACTICAL FIREARMS TRAINING COURSES
Team Spartan
4951 Indiana Avenue Suite 100
Lisle, Illinois 60532-3818
(708) 207-2594

Ranger Firearm Instruction
http://rangerfirearminstruction.com
J. A. Brugnoli (Owner)
517-294-3580
rfinstruction@yahoo.com

Michigan Defensive Firearms Institute
MDFI - Home
PO Box 19102
Kalamazoo, MI
49019

Personal Defense Service
http://www.personaldefenseservice.com
(800) 687-2104
PO Box 185
Linden, MI 48451

Michigan training Academy
Home
586-585-1024
michigantrainingacademy@yahoo.com

ULTIMATE PROTECTION ACADEMY
Ultimate Protection Academy
586-286-SAFE(7233)
CHESTERFIELD MICHIGAN (MACOMB COUNTY) conveniently located off 194 and Gratiot (just South of 21 Mile Rd )
46853 GRATIOT AVE.
CHESTERFIELD, MI 48051