4-Night Defensive Handgun

What were your reasons for taking this course?

I felt like I needed more experience, and the next available handgun course wasn't until September.

What are your General Comments?

Compared to the day course, there were many more instructors for the night course. There was an instructor every 2-3 students on the line.

The course started at 6pm and ended by about 12:30am. On the first day, we did start a little earlier, because we had a lecture about different ways of holding a flashlight. There were three or four methods when holding the flashlight, and they let us try them all out to see what we preferred. The one that they promoted the most was the Harries method. I do feel like this night course was looser and more laid back than the day course. They gave us more options on what to do rather than having only one. As long as we were being safe, we were allowed to try whatever method of holding the flashlight we wanted to.

Learning how to use the flashlight was really the main difference between the night course and the day course. They taught us about making sure the flashlight wasn't kept on too long and using the light for misdirection to throw the assailant off. They also taught us about which ammo produces more of a muzzle flash and which ones produce less.

Other than the use the flashlight, everything was pretty much the same except it was after dark. They took us to the doors and the shoot house and taught us how to go through it while using a flashlight. We even had the competition with the steel targets, as well. Basically, we did everything we did in the day course; but they focused on how to do it with low light and how to not give away your location with your flashlight. Also, there was no concealment at any time and no skills test at the end of the course.

There were no meal breaks. We had occasional five or ten minutes breaks when you could grab a drink and a snack.

Do you have any tips for first-time students of this course?

The 4-Day Defensive Handgun class is a prerequisite course to the night class; and it's all the preparation you'll need, except for purchasing a pair of clear goggles and a flashlight

Would you suggest this course to others?

Yes, I would. I liked my day class a little better, because I enjoyed the structure of it. The instructors on the night course are more laid back and allow more fun shooting; while in the day course, the focus was on learning. I suppose though, since they know you've learned the basics in the day class, they can be more relaxed.

How did you get there?

I drove from Los Angeles.

Where did you stay?

I stayed at Bonnie Springs Ranch, which was in between Las Vegas and Front Sight. They also offered a Front Sight discount making it be only about $47 per night. It wasn't a modern hotel, but it was big. They had a great restaurant. They also had a petting zoo, a wax museum, and an old western "ghost" town that are free to go through if you are staying at the hotel. When I go back to Front Sight, I will probably stay at the Best Western because Bonnie Springs Ranch is farther away and older. This hotel would definitely be a great place to stay, if you have kids. At the restaurant, they served bison burgers that were fresh. It was definitely better than the restaurant at the Best Western.

How did you handle the ammo situation?

The ammunition came with the Gun Rental Package.

What other courses do you plan on taking in the future?

Right now I'm signed up for the following courses: 2-Day Skill Builder, 2-Day Empty Hand Defense, and 2-Day Edged Weapons. I'm also seriously considering attending the Tactical Medicine Course (Offered by Combat Dynamics Group).

What other courses are have you taken?

4-Day Defensive Handgun