# Frontsight Definitely The Real Deal, World-Class Instructors, Great Facilities.



## cclaxton (Jul 10, 2011)

I don't want to come off like an advertisement, but I want to recommend Frontsight to EVERYONE who owns a handgun and thinks they may use it in self-defense someday. Yes, even the experienced combat veterans can benefit from their handgun courses. I have been shooting IDPA for 6 months and I found it well worth the time and money.

I, too, was a bit wary of the heavy internet marketing. I am not sure the lifetime memberships and first family memberships are a good value unless you are within driving distance or can afford to travel to Vegas and take time off.

However, the training is the best I have seen...as good as US Training Center in Moyock, NC. In many ways it was better because I think their staff is better trained and tailored to average citizens. It is very competitive to get a job there....they truly only have the BEST people working there...both in terms of knowlege and skill, but also teaching. Out of our class of 40 students, everyone thought it was a great value, and many were talking about going back to gain more improvement. Many people signed up during the $69 promotion, like I did. That was a bargain, even when I include airfare and hotel and car rental.

They provide dryfire and live-fire shooting drills and there is a Frontsight Technique they teach you for grip, sighting, draw, low ready, malfunctions, etc. They worked us until our hands and arms were sore. The facilities were world-class. The lectures were jam-packed with great information on legal and ethical and practical issues around handgun ownership and use.

The best thing about the place is the Master-quality world-class staff there. Even IF the facilities were ordinary (they are extraordinary), I would go back again because of the staff.

My skills went from mediocre to excellent. I can put two rounds into the center mass at 7 meters from concealed draw in under 2 seconds and 10 meters under 2.6s. And, I can repeat that again and again. And, I can put one shot into the brain chamber from concealed draw in under 2 seconds at 5 meters.

They also forced us to do a tactical mag change after every set of shots, ensuring we checked for a mag every time before doing the mag change. They had us practice drawing from concealment over and over both dry and live. They also had us do live round malfunction solutions over and over until we could do them without thinking. They also had a small shoothouse for basic tactics, such as slicing the pie, approaching and opening a door, clearing rooms and doorways, shooting a hostagetaker, etc.

And, they maintained a safe training environment and never let up on the safety rules.

I may sound like an advertisement, but I have no incentive to give this rave review other than wanting everyone to be properly trained, and I think Frontsight meets and exceeds that goal. I think Frontsight is the real thing: Worldclass quality self-defense handgun combat training taught by phenomenally great teachers in a great facility.

My only complaints are:
1) The training facility is 45min from vegas and 30min from Pahrump, NV. Its really in the middle of nowhere. I stayed at the SaddleWest hotel in Pahrump... they have a special at $50/night includes breakfast...it was adequate. I would like to see a Frontsight facility on the east coast where I could drive to it.
2) They try to cram a lot of training into those four days, and its tough to keep up. If you go, be well-rested, properly dressed for the weather, well nourished and be early and on-time and have all your equipment ready, a GREAT OWB holster, and extra ammo.

They give a skills test at the end and based on your scoring you receive: Distinguished Graduate, Graduate, or Certificate of Completion. You must be a Distinguished Graduate to go into the advanced tactical and Combat Master courses. They also offer nighttime courses. Out of 40 students, I was the only Distinguished Graduate. About 50% of the class were Graduates and the rest got certificate of completion. For most people, that is probably fine, but the skills test is tough, and I was frankly suprised when I got Distinguished because I thought I didn't do well on the malfunctions tests. I attribute my success to their great training, plus the past six months of IDPA matches, my Cz75Shadow which is an accurate workhorse, and 147gr 9mm ammo.

And, I met a lot of great people: retired firefighter, an Army soldier, farmers, college student, power plant operator, retired military, a woman sport shooter, etc. And, it was a LOT of fun...we shot over 750 rounds over four days. And, we had a single-elimination steel plate competition....yeah, I won that too. Bottom line is that it was a lot of work, long hours, cold weather (cold hands and fingers), and it was a TON of fun!

I give them a 5-star rating...out of 5. 
I am not sure I can afford to go back soon, but hoping one course next year. 
I will be posting another string to talk about logistics of going....just in case anyone else goes.
I guarantee you will have a TON OF FUN taking this course as long as you dress for the weather and I KNOW you will be a better handgun operator when you complete this class.

CC
PICS!!!!!








Early Morning Outside Frontsight Gate








Instructors Helping with Grip and Stance








Handgun Combat Master Instructor Giving Lesson








My Classmates








Two Relays of 20 students per relay, total 40 students








Other Ranges








Lecture Room (Ahhh...Warm In Here!)








Classmates Practicing








2nd Relay Coaching Partners








Me Shooting








Steel Plate Man on Man Match with Hostage Plate Challenge








Me being presented "Big Dog" Trophy for Steel Plate Match








Doors for Tactical Practice








Frontsight Target








Practice for Skills Test








More Practice Drills








Takiing Malfunction Solutions Test








Taking Skills Test, Notice Heads turned back as a part of After-Action Drills








My Trusty Cz75Shadow


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## Gunners_Mate (Feb 17, 2010)

Great review man, I really appreciate it, honestly. I've been half-considering taking the plunge and making the investment to go out there sometime, but not really trusting the MASSIVE ad campaign they push and suspecting it was some sort of overcompensation, glad to finally have a first word opinion from someone whose not a quoted figure on their website. Definitely want to go now. It's a matter of finding a gap in time when I have the leave accrued as well as the money..


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## rgrundy (Jul 16, 2011)

It's in the "middle of nowhere". That's funny. Everything is in the middle of nowhere out here that's why it's so easy to bring drugs north. It's a good place to go to learn to shoot. Many employers here offer membership and/or training to their employees as part of their benefits package. My friend's wife and her sister just got back from there. With all the new gun owners that have popped up in the last few years the place is booming. It's well worth the time. Glad you had fun.


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## VAMarine (Dec 25, 2008)

I've heard mixed reviews from other students and instructors. Apparently they are heavy on the coach/pupil method due to a skewed instructor/student ratio which is all well and good provided the guy you get paired up with isn't dead weight.

The wife and I have thought about going out there, but their two day courses cost more than some 3-4 day courses from other establishments with a better instructor/student ratio and no time share offers.


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## chessail77 (Mar 15, 2011)

I went two years ago and honestly they might have made considerable improvement since then as my experience was not good and I would never recommend them, facilities were bad to non existent and as stated they are in the middle of nowhere, instructor to pupil ratio was awful and they used a pairing system that placed an experienced shooter with a beginner to compensate for lack of instructors. Range instruction was two instructors per class and in my estimation that is totally insufficient and they used the pairings to make up for it. Just to balance this out, maybe they have improved since then but there are many other highly rated courses and facilities for me to spend my money on the hope that they have......JJ


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## Cat (Apr 12, 2011)

cclaxton said:


> I don't want to come off like an advertisement, but I want to recommend Frontsight to EVERYONE who owns a handgun and thinks they may use it in self-defense someday. Yes, even the experienced combat veterans can benefit from their handgun courses. I have been shooting IDPA for 6 months and I found it well worth the time and money.
> 
> ....


 Did you have fun, I'm like a kid with candy just be for we have a match.:smt033


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## cclaxton (Jul 10, 2011)

chessail77 said:


> I went two years ago and honestly they might have made considerable improvement since then as my experience was not good and I would never recommend them, facilities were bad to non existent and as stated they are in the middle of nowhere, instructor to pupil ratio was awful and they used a pairing system that placed an experienced shooter with a beginner to compensate for lack of instructors. Range instruction was two instructors per class and in my estimation that is totally insufficient and they used the pairings to make up for it. Just to balance this out, maybe they have improved since then but there are many other highly rated courses and facilities for me to spend my money on the hope that they have......JJ


I can only tell you my experience for a training Dec 12-15 in 4-day handgun in 2011. There were five instructors (0ne of them the head instructor) for 40 people. Other instructors cycled in every day. That turns out to be 20/5 or one for every four because there are two relays. I found the ratio just fine. I also like the relay partnering. Each day you rotated partners, and on the fourth day I swapped partners a few times. Having to watch others shoot and correct them certainly helped me to learn as well. Two instructors would have not been enough.

I was very pleased with the value and the experience and my own improvement.

CC


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## cclaxton (Jul 10, 2011)

I have found bargain pricing if you wait a while and make sure you are on their email list. The registrations are transferable. You should be able to find someone willing to tranfer their registration to you for the bargain pricing. 
I think you can purchase this $159 lifetime registration for the 4-day handgun class. That means you can repeat that class as much as you want. For me, I am already Distinguished Graduate, but for those who need the fundamentals, this is a great deal, especially if you can drive to it.
Front Sight Firearms Training Institute

I wouldn't mind taking more courses, but I am having a hard time with the fee schedule. I figure there will be another promotion coming out soon.

CC


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## jeffreybehr (Feb 10, 2009)

VAMarine said:


> The wife and I have thought about going out there, but their two day courses cost more than some 3-4 day courses from other establishment...


Not if you took advantage of their VERY-low-priced Lifetime Memberships. Too bad those LMs are gone forever. I got mine.


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## twomode (Jun 7, 2009)

I'm signed up and paid for a 4 day course and looking forward to it. I had to go to Vegas last fall for our annual expo and took the time to drive out and look around. I met up with an instructor for about a half hour and he showed me around and explained things well. As shown in the pictures very nice facilities, numerous ranges, but a fairly sparse gun shop. Thanks for the report, making me look forward to going even more.


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