Looking for rifle training course

[novashooter]

I am looking for a rifle training course in or near Virginia.

I figured I would post this here as most of you seem to be in the know in ref to training courses. if it should be posted somewhere else Mods please feel free to move it. I am in no way a "Tactical" operator / shooter. I am a 3 Gun and rifle competition shooter. My rifle does not even have iron sights on it (currently run a Leupold 1.5-5).

I think that the training and trigger time can greatly help me in my competitions. However, after reading most of the posts and doing a little research it seems that most of the attendees to these courses are more tactical guys.

I guess my question is this: If i show up at one theses courses with a race gun (comp, no irons, weapon lighted mount, etc) will I benefit?

Thanks for any input you might have.

[yrac]

Moved to "Training & Tactics."

[mark5pt56]

Check with GotM4, He's up in Norva and does alot of 3 gun and can also help out with general training in your AO

[vaspence]

Keep an eye on the Training Course Announcements forum. Jeff Freuler in NC hosts classes that are within 4 hours of driving for you. Maybe not in or near NOVA but well worth the drive. Easily accessed off of 95 and great instructors including Pat Rogers and Kyle Lamb. Jeff is a great guy and its hard to find a training opportunity with such great concierge sevices! I don't know if he's still offering the airport shuttle

Larry Vickers offers classes in South Hill not Boston (my bad), VA which is about an 1 hour less drive than the NC classes. Paul Hotaling (VA_Dinger) is the guy to talk to about these and is also a great guy.

Closer to home (Fredericksburg) Tom Perroni's 1 day AR class got a positive review from my shooting buddy who attended it and he's running those fairly often. When I get a free day I plan to give it a go myself.

Most of the best training options for us VA guys are in NC/way south in VA.

You'll be fine without a light, chest rig, etc. All you need is a positive attitude and a willingness to learn.

[John_Wayne777]

I guess my question is this: If i show up at one theses courses with a race gun (comp, no irons, weapon lighted mount, etc) will I benefit?

Thanks for any input you might have.

My question would be this:

What are you trying to learn? If you're going for stuff that will improve your performance in 3 gun then you'll have to ask the competition guys about that.

If, however, you're looking for tips on running a given platform for serious social purposes, there are a number of good training options on the market.

If you're competitive in 3 gun your basic shooting skills are more than likely far in excess of what most of the guys going to classes have...but you may still benefit considerably from exposure to the practical realities of using the 5.56 carbine as a weapon rather than a competition platform.

[BT2012]

Larry Vickers offers classes in South Boston, VA which is about an 1 hour less drive than the NC classes.

vaspence meant to say South Hill, VA not South Boston, VA.

[comprido]

I am looking for a rifle training course in or near Virginia.

I figured I would post this here as most of you seem to be in the know in ref to training courses. if it should be posted somewhere else Mods please feel free to move it. I am in no way a "Tactical" operator / shooter. I am a 3 Gun and rifle competition shooter. My rifle does not even have iron sights on it (currently run a Leupold 1.5-5).

I think that the training and trigger time can greatly help me in my competitions. However, after reading most of the posts and doing a little research it seems that most of the attendees to these courses are more tactical guys.

I guess my question is this: If i show up at one theses courses with a race gun (comp, no irons, weapon lighted mount, etc) will I benefit?

Thanks for any input you might have.

I'm a bit late to the discussion. Hope that's alright.

I think your instincts are right. From my experience most of the tactics course are heavy on tactics and not much time is spent on techniques of shooting an AR. You'll often be getting lessons in 'mindset', 'staying in the fight,' OODA loop, color conditions, etc.

An exception that I have first-hand experience with is Bennie Cooley's 2-day 'tactics' class, which is heavy on fast, accurate shooting (in our case most of the shooting was at poppers at 100 yards.) There really wasn't a lot of what most would consider 'tactics', and I liked that. Because of Cooley's competition record, there were many 3-gun guys there.

@Novashooter ---- You probably already know these names, but for anyone else reading I'd look for a class with Mike Voight, Bruce Piatt, or Ted Puente (Puente teaches at Universal Shooting Academy.) Haven't taken a class with any of them but they come highly recommended. You'll probably have to travel.

(Slightly off topic -- I know I'm in the minority here, but I recommend to my fellow soldiers and LEOs to first to take classes from USPSA-oriented instructors. Most don't take that route though, but the reasons why are a topic for another thread.)

[Stranger45]

Take a look at this website, a lot of people like Pat Goodale. And yes I work for him sometimes.

http://www.pgpft.com/

[Robb Jensen]

J.
You're already a solid rifle/carbine shooter and competitor but I do think a class by Magpul Dynamics, Vickers Tactical or US Training Center would do do you good (I haven't taken classes from Pat Rogers, Pat Goodale but I hear they are good), Never stop training and always seek out different instruction. The day you stop learning is the day you should quit shooting. If ammo were cheaper I'd be shooting more than just at matches as of late well not really this has been my MO this year. With some luck I'll have an ammo sponsor next year.....hopefully the one who provides the majority of your Production USPSA ammo currently. Call me Monday.

[tpd223]

Pat Rogers course is top notch. I just attended his carbine course in August, highly recommended