Friend in G-ville recently came to the realization that he wants a firearm to protect his family in their new house.  He is smart enough to know he should not get one without proper training.  I am in Daytona so a little bit far away to help him out.

Does anyone know of a good instructor for basic safety, handling, and marksmanship in the Gainesville area?  Also are there any rental ranges there he could go to and try a couple different weapons?

I figure once I have him hooked he will have an AR, blinged out Glock, and be going to Haley Strategic classes within a couple years.

good target range at GTR.  Gainesville Target Range.  Good indoor range at Picketts in Micanopy.   Lawful Defense, on 441 North,  is a great place to stop in, look around, and ask questions about the local scene.

Send member CS223 a message. He lives just north of Gainesville in Alachua.

@Aikibiker

There is:

Focused Fire Training, out of Melrose.. Instructor is Tommy Sapp... He runs Carbine and handgun classes at all levels
Focused Fire Training


And Defensive Training Group out of Gainesville..... Instructor is Bill Quirk... He runs a lot of classes out of GTR mentioned above.
DTG


And as mentioned above... Harry Beckwiths aka Picketts...They run a myriad of different classes through the year.
HBWG

Thank you I will send my friend some links so he can look into them.

I've taken several classes with Bill Quirk and enjoyed them all. Nice guy, good instructor. I learned a lot and had fun.

Bill Quirk is a great guy. GPD detective or former. Also the folks at Lawful Defense are a good contact for classes. I know they have active duty LE teach some courses.