St. Louis area training (especially good handgun basics?)

[Don Gwinn]

I'm about 1.5 hours out of St. Louis in Illinois, and I've never trained there. I've traveled to Wisconsin (long haul for me) and I'm currently seeing some Grey Group stuff in Arkansas that I could theoretically get to. I know there are good classes going through Indianapolis from time to time, and I could get down to Kentucky or Memphis. But there must be stuff happening in St. Louis, right? Bright lights, big city, and all that? Right now my best bet--of people who have classes scheduled already, anyway--looks to be making the six-hour drive to Rangemaster in Memphis. I'm keeping my eyes open for Midwest Training Group events in Bloomington, IL or in Indiana. But what goes on in St. Louis that I should keep in mind?

[mpd046]

We host a class every year in Maryville IL (15 miles east of East St Louis). We've had Tiger Swan 3 years ago, and Pat McNamara the last 2 years. Pat will be back for a vehicle tactics (pistol only) class in May. I'm planning to shoot most of the class from concealment, but I may shoot a couple of drills from my duty rig. I haven't made up my mind who we will host in 2015 yet.

http://aliastraining.com/patmcnamara2-daydynamicvehicletactics-may15-162014-maryvilleillinois.aspx

I think Vickers is coming to Lincoln IL (north of Springfield) for a class or 2 this year as well

Matt

[Don Gwinn]

Thanks. That vehicle class sounds higher-speed than I am at the moment, but it sounds like a good group.
I didn't know anyone was hosting classes in Lincoln, either. That's about the same distance for me in the other direction. I know Midwest Training Group uses Darnalls in Bloomington sometimes, so I've been keeping an eye out for that.

[Sal Picante]

I know there are a few competition shooting groups in the area - lemme see where my references are...

[Dolemite]

I highly recommend the MTG Intro to Defensive Pistol course taught by Bob Houzenga.

[Sal Picante]

Don,

Get a hold of Aaron Parmenter from AP Customs (http://www.apcustomusa.com) - he can recommend a few groups.

[Don Gwinn]

Thanks! And the vote for MTG Intro is noted.

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk HD

[Don Gwinn]

Here's one Larry Vickers class in Lincoln:
http://aliastraining.com/larryvickers2-daylevel-1handgunclass-july11-122014-lincolnil.aspx

This is Level One handgun, which might fit me pretty well, actually. It's being hosted at Adamax Tactical Academy, which I've never visited. I remember hearing about Adamax a few years ago when it was located in a small town south of Springfield, IL, so I guess there's been a move.

2 days (July 11-12)
400-1000 rounds
$525

Larry Vickers 2-Day Level-1 Handgun Class - July 11-12, 2014- Lincoln, IL
This class is an entry level course for handgun shooters and is designed specifically for those who have not had any formal instruction or those who wish a refresher class. Topics covered include the following: safety, stance, grip, sight alignment and trigger control. Familiarization with their service pistol includes field stripping and maintenance. In addition to this, other topics that are covered include reloads, draw, and introduction to different skill drills including dry fire and bullseye shooting.

[Don Gwinn]

And the two days after the pistol class, Larry Vickers will still be in Lincoln teaching a carbine class:
http://aliastraining.com/larryvickers2-daylevel-1carbineclass-july13-142014-lincolnil.aspx

July 13-14
$525
400-800 rds for the carbine, 150 rounds for the handgun


Larry Vickers 2-Day Level-1 Carbine Class - July 13-14, 2014 - Lincoln, IL

Topics covered include carbine safety, stance, zeroing sights, sight alignment and trigger control. Familiarization with their carbine topics includes field stripping and maintenance. Other subject matter that is covered includes reloads, presentation, strong side & weak side shooting, shooting positions, use of cover, and introduction to different skill drills including dry fire and bullseye shooting. Malfunction drills and shooting on the move. Timed fire drills and evaluations based on class skill level.

I'm not in the market for rifle training right now, but might as well pimp it in case anyone else searches for STL stuff.

[Don Gwinn]

And here's Ken Hackathorn advanced pistol in Mt. Carroll (halfway between Rockford and the Quad Cities?)
http://aliastraining.com/kenhackathorn2-dayadvancedhandgunsept13-142014-mtcarrollil.aspx

Sept. 13-14
$525
800 rounds minimum


Day One:
- Introduction, followed by a lecture on tactical mental applications, legal aspects, and equipment selection.
- Late morning range drills and review of the ‘key’ advanced shooting principles.
- Lunch for 45 minutes
- Return to range for advanced approach to pistol presentation, follow through, and scanning. Turns, pivots, emergency reloads, and multiple targets. Intro to shooting on the move, and related skill drills.
- Break for Dinner until dusk, then low- light firing techniques, with flashlight and without.

Day Two:
- Resume training with continued range sessions to include review, strong and weak hand drills, point shooting, distance/long range, corner drill, skill drills, and evaluation skill drills.
- Final class review, with key points based upon the students ability to function reflexively.

[Don Gwinn]

Midwest Training Group hosting MAG40 (taught by Massad Ayoob) in Kankakee, IL at the ISRA range.

I've actually taken MAG20C and MAG20R separately, last summer, but I still might think about this. It's expensive for repeating something I've already done, but it was a great experience and such a rush of information that I'm sure I'd benefit from doing it again. Also, it would be interesting to take the range hours from Ayoob himself and see what that's like.

[smullen]

Check these folks out...

http://www.asymmetricsolutionsusa.com/civilian/

A bit of a drive, almost 2 hours south of St. Louis, just below Farmington... There are several hotels within 20-30 minutes south of them and north of them...

Several folks I know have went there and gave the facility and instructors very good reviews...

I'm sending my girl there for her CCW class in a few weeks and I plan on taking several pistol and rifle course there this fall...


I'm about 1.5 hours out of St. Louis in Illinois, and I've never trained there. I've traveled to Wisconsin (long haul for me) and I'm currently seeing some Grey Group stuff in Arkansas that I could theoretically get to. I know there are good classes going through Indianapolis from time to time, and I could get down to Kentucky or Memphis. But there must be stuff happening in St. Louis, right? Bright lights, big city, and all that? Right now my best bet--of people who have classes scheduled already, anyway--looks to be making the six-hour drive to Rangemaster in Memphis. I'm keeping my eyes open for Midwest Training Group events in Bloomington, IL or in Indiana. But what goes on in St. Louis that I should keep in mind?