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[dwtsn]

I'm going to the Front Sight's 4-day Defensive Handgun Course and 1-day 30-state CCW course in October. I signed-up for the special they have for $1k and you 'take home' the XD (I chose .40), folder knife, other misc gear. Seems like a good deal.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[MP45Man]

Front Sight is located in the desert between Las Vegas and Pahrump Nevada.

Wow! I just drove by there last year while out there on an anniversary trip. Had I known, I would have stopped in to check it out.

[tmizzi]

Anyone with serious interest in a Front Sight membership should get on their email list "Subscribe to Free Gun Trianing Reports" on their site.

The emails are pretty informative and they are always pitching a special of some sort or another. There was one a week or so ago with some great prices (especially considering their published retail) to purchase some "repossed memberships".

Just keep a close eye on them for awhile and I am sure you can save yourself a good bit of money. Remember they are a business like any other. Sometimes cash flow gets tight and they need to churn some memberships.

[Knuckledrager]

Just my two cents; Go to Gunsite. Better training, less Iggy.

[Defensive Arms]

Just my two cents; Go to Gunsite. Better training, less Iggy.

Whether Gunsite's (GS) training is "better" is debatable. Both GS and Front Sight (FS) are quite good, and I don't believe there's a dime's worth of difference in the training.

However, Gunsite's weakness is that they cater more to military, law enforcement and government agencies. Thus they have a very limited number of course offerings for civilians during the year.

If you're not lucky enough to get in on one of their relatively few civilian classes before it fills up, you can't train there.

FS offers far more courses to the public during the year, making it much easier to attend there than GS.

IMHO, Front Sight is the better choice for CIVILIANS who want quality training, without having to worry about getting shut out of a class for the year.

[StormGuy57]

I attended the 4 day defensive handgun last June using an Ebay certificate. I would not pay the full price, for one very expensive and two not worth full price. The training is good and very focused, however, the classes are large and uses the buddy system to help you drill the techniques taught. Instructors seem to focus only on the really shakey students. Otherwise your buddy is pointing out your errors (blind leading the blind). Very intense and fast paced. Again, I would not pay full price, too much other expenses to deal with while there.

[Thumper]

I too have been to the 4-day Defensive Handgun Course at Front Sight and was not disappointed. I'd like to go to Gunsite or even train with Gabe Suarez. All it takes is time and money!

[Defensive Arms]

I attended the 4 day defensive handgun last June using an Ebay certificate. I would not pay the full price, for one very expensive and two not worth full price. The training is good and very focused, however, the classes are large and uses the buddy system to help you drill the techniques taught. Instructors seem to focus only on the really shakey students. Otherwise your buddy is pointing out your errors (blind leading the blind). Very intense and fast paced. Again, I would not pay full price, too much other expenses to deal with while there.

It's really not necessary to ever pay the full price, since Front Sight offers so many special deals direct from their website, and of course the Ebay certificates you mentioned are plentiful. At the discounted prices, the training is a good value for the money.

Take a discounted course, and if you're satisfied and want to continue to train, buy a life membership. Buy the right membership, and you'll get free course certificates that you can sell to others, allowing you to recoup all or most of the cost of your membership.

Which means your life membership will essentially be free or close to it. I don't think any of the other major firearms training academies offer that good of a deal.

As you noted, large class sizes can sometimes present a problem for certain people. However, large class sizes also indicate a financially healthy, quality training facility that's able to attract new customers and retain old ones.

The key to getting around large class sizes, is to contact Front Sight in advance, and find out what times of the year are a little slower. Try to attend in one of the "off months", instead of the busier months.