I know some of you like them and some don't but this seems to be a pretty good deal.

$200 for a two day Fighting Pistol Class at TR

For that price I might have even gone down there to let someone grind my gun in to the dirt with their boot and teach me how to spin in circles while I reload.

Really? I am considering taking a class there and would like some feedback from people who have been there. But if someone is actually going to gring my pistol into the dirt than I may pass on that.

I've been there for fighting rifle. Nobody had their stuff abused aside from dropping their own shit. Great class. Yeager has been know to toss his own glock on the ground to demonstrate a mindset of "your weapon is a tool not a collector's item".

They are good to go, go learn, should be a good time.

Yeager a legend in his own mind.

I have taken the Tactical Response fighting pistol and advanced fighting pistol classes and have never had my equipment abused by any staff or been required to spin in circles while I reload. There training is top notch and they but a focus on mindset above and beyond many of the other trainers I have had the opportunity to train with.

I took Fighting Pistol August 13-14 this summer in Camden.  I learned alot and I plan to train with Tactical Response again this summer.

Here is my review of the course:

I signed up for Fighting Pistol to learn. I accomplished my goal many times over. In the span of two days I learned new skills, honed old skills, pushed my comfort zone, met new people and, most importantly, learned a mind set. When I completed the course I really feel like I accomplished something.

Background: This was my first private training course. I am an Army veteran. In the 80’s I was a cavalry scout with the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment. I have had no formal training after leaving the Army.

The Instructors: The Instructors for the course were Jay, Tim and Steve. I was very impressed with their teaching skills in the classroom and on the range. They were equally good in both environments. They presented each topic and skill in a way that made it easy to absorb and put to use. We had nine students in my class, so the instructor to student ratio was excellent.

The access to the instructors is unprecedented. They ate lunch and dinner with us.

In addition to the Tactical Response Instructors, there were others helping with the students. On Saturday, we had an executive protection trainer observing the course and assisting the students. On Sunday, we had a Tactical Response Alum, Steve from South Carolina, helping out with the class.

The Students: This was a diverse class of students. There were many professions and skill levels represented. We had a student who was an NRA instructor down to a student who had no formal firearms training. I fell somewhere in the middle. Each student worked very hard and appeared to enjoy the class.

The Course: The class is divided into the classroom and range portions.

The Classroom: I was there to shoot so I was looking forward to the range time the most. However, the classroom portions were presented in an amusing informative style that did not have me looking at my watch every two minutes. The knowledge I gained in the lecture portion of Fighting Pistol was invaluable. (It might be said that mind set class is THE most important part of the course.)

The Range: There was a lot of information presented at the range. I learned that I really need to drill my fundamentals. The fundamentals must be practiced until they are subconscious actions that you do the same way every time. This is true because once you are in a stressful or life threatening situation you are dealing with the situation and not thinking about basic marksmanship skills.

The range exercises were designed to present real world threat scenarios and reinforce the lessons of the class room. If a student has trouble with the exercise or a skill, an instructor is quickly there to help the student out.

Tim was the instructor that was standing behind me for most of my range time. I can be a bit uncoordinated and I learn new skills through repetition. Tim is a great instructor who is both hilarious and patient. Though, he can be firm after he has corrected you for 10 times in a row and you still forget to check if you have another magazine before you drop your magazine from your pistol on a reload.

My favorite Tim quote was during the jam drills when he told me to, “Un-fuck your shit son!!” I’m still laughing about that one.

Gear: I really obsessed about what would be the most appropriate gear for this class. I didn’t want to show up to this class Mall Ninja style with the price tags still hanging off the most expensive gear in the Air Soft special ops store.

I brought a Glock 19 with Big Dot sights on it. I really liked how the pistol and the sights performed during the course. I brought as many magazines as I had for the Glock 19. I think I would have been fine with bringing the recommended five magazines. The rest of the students, save one, were all shooting Glocks.

I brought 1200 rounds of 9mm. I think I shot around 900 rounds. Everyone brought commercial manufactured ammo. (No reloads)

I bought a nice thick nylon belt, with a Fobus holster and double magazine carrier. I brought a Camel Back and knee pads that I didn’t use.

For hydration my friend and I filled a cooler with Gatorade. There was more than enough time for us to load our mags and rehydrate on the breaks. (BRING A MAG LOADER, mine was invaluable.)

The Gear Store: It is a really cool store. The store stocks all of the gear, including ammo, that one would need for the course. Jack was working behind the counter. He is really funny. He has set up a “If you need it, If you have it” dish that you would find in any gas station for extra pennies. The only difference is that Jack’s Tactical Response “If you need it, If you have it” dish is full of 5.56mm bullets.

The Team Room: I was a bit unsure of what to expect at the Team Room. I thought it might be like those old WW2 barracks with the big open bay for sleeping. It was anything but that. It is part of James Yeager’s home. There are two rooms with three bunk beds for students. The beds are substantial and the mattresses are comfortable.

When I started to research Tactical Response courses, I learned about the Team Room. Many of the reviews of Tactical Response courses I read stated that the Team Room was a very important part of your experience at Tactical Response. That is true. I really enjoyed the camaraderie I felt amongst the instructors and my fellow students. On Saturday night, after the first training day, I felt like I was being welcomed into a new fraternity. The war stories, tall tales and jokes were great.

Make sure to ask Jay if you can see his spider.

I am looking forward to my next opportunity to train with Tactical Response.

Eric

Thanks for the AAR, good report!  I've been leery of training with them because of some things I've heard and read even though they're only about 3 hours away.  Great info, I have vacation in a couple months and may pay them a visit.