Valor Ridge Pistol Craft 1 (review)

This past weekend I completed Pistol Craft 1 at Valor Ridge taught by Reid and Jeremiah. The TL;DR version is that it was worth every penny I spent, and worth every second of the 8 hour drive each way. I wish I had taken this course years ago!

The atmosphere at Valor Ridge is very conducive to learning. We had 16 students in the class, and they ranged from police officers, current & former military members, and civilians with no prior formal training such as myself. Reid and Jeremiah were respectful, helpful, and patient with each student at all times. There is absolutely no criticism, belittlement, or yelling at VR. Reid will be bluntly honest when you don't do something correctly, but he does so as a coach, not a critic. If you are a coachable student, you will excel at Valor Ridge!

Reid begins the class with introductions and an emphasis on the 4 firearms safety rules. Safety is definitely priority #1 at Valor Ridge. Before every new drill, Reid reminded us to be mindful of the firearms safety rules above all else, and knowing that everyone was on the same page from a safety standpoint definitely helped me focus on the drills and applying the skills that were being taught. I've seen criticisms on the forums because Reid trusts new students with somewhat advanced maneuvers, but trust me, he and Jeremiah were watching closely at all times, and everyone was extremely careful with muzzle and trigger discipline.

Another high priority for Reid is marksmanship, which he explains is accuracy upon demand. Reid has very high marksmanship standards, and he holds each student accountable for every shot. We were all taught fundamentals of marksmanship right away, and throughout the course we were expected to make good hits whether we were shooting at 3, 7, 25, or even 50 yards. Before Pistol Craft 1 I was a pretty lousy shot past 10 yards, but now I'm much more competent and confident.

Every drill and every round in this course has a purpose. We learned everything that is listed in the course description and then some. My favorite thing I learned was how to shoot one handed & two handed from close contact distances (when an attacker is too close for you to fully extend the pistol). A very close second favorite were the drills that had us shoot & move. As fun and important as the range portion of the course was, the classroom portion was equally important. The topics and personal experience Reid covers were truly invaluable for me (I realize a lot of you have experiences similar to Reid's, but as a 25 year old civilian the classroom topics were very beneficial). You can honestly tell that Reid enjoys being a teacher.

If I could change one thing about the course, I would have liked to incorporate movement when drawing, reloading, and clearing stoppages. I'm not sure if class makeup determines how much Reid throws at us at one time, but I've seen videos of past courses at VR where students would take a step left/right when drawing, reloading, etc. I can certainly work on these things on my own, but it would have been nice to do so under supervision.

There are a lot of great instructors available today, but what helped me decide to train with Reid was that he is clearly a freedom minded individual. If you check out his YouTube channel you'll see what I mean. I know some courses don't allow loaded firearms except when on the range, but there is absolutely none of that at Valor Ridge. Reid treated us all as responsible armed citizens, and he actually encouraged being armed at all times (I should note that Reid did state that he didn't want anyone loading or otherwise handling their firearms in the classroom, but everyone came to class armed so it was a non issue).

I will definitely be seeking more training from Reid in the future. He suggested I take Rifleman 1 next, so that's what I'll do. I'm in the process of filling up my piggy bank right now, so I hope there will still be spots in 2018 for me once I have the requisite funds.