It was going to be Tucson, but instead I've moved to the Sedona area. From what I can tell thus far, I'll have to go to Flagstaff for IDPA/USPSA.
Any suggestions for training/matches in North AZ? Thanks.
It was going to be Tucson, but instead I've moved to the Sedona area. From what I can tell thus far, I'll have to go to Flagstaff for IDPA/USPSA.
Any suggestions for training/matches in North AZ? Thanks.
From my limited AZ time that sounds like a win to me
Might call around to Cottonwood and Prescott gun shops and see whats happening. Flag has some stuff going on I believe. Be prepared to drive more than you may be used to for social, shopping, and entertainment needs.
Otherwise, I applaud your choice, I wish I could be there. Many good memories of the area. Go have coffee or breakfast at the Coffee Pot restaurant for me. Used to be good, but its been a long time since Ive been there. Lots of good dirt roads and trails to explore. Poor weather is some of the best times to be out hiking, it cuts down on the human activity quite a lot.
I look at the weather there every day, wishing i was there instead of somewhere that it snows. OK, it snows there, but its more decorative snow than serious snow.
Well, GUNSITE is right outside of Prescott, AZ; although some may opine that its curriculum is “dated”, it is the first private shooting school, and has many classes to choose from and ranges to run them on. If you have the wherewithal and time, it has to be at the top of any list.
There are other instructors of note in the area, and I’m sure a web search could turn up some options.
@GJM: I believe he ventures into AZ for competition, so he may have some suggestions. A search of USPSA/IDPA sites would give one club competition in the area.
Congratulations, Sedona looks beautiful.
If you don't mind a 2 hour drive, Payson AZ has some options:
http://tontorimsportsclub.com/PPP/default.php
They have a Steel Challenge match this weekend, and it looks like a USPSA match later in the month.
Practiscore is the best resource I've found for finding clubs and matches in unfamiliar areas. https://practiscore.com/dashboard/home
I know a few guys that drive from N AZ / Prescott to shoot at the Thursday night match at Ben Avery. It is located at the northern end of Phoenix and right off I-17. Depending on weather and exactly where you are located, it would be a 1 to 1.5 hr drive. There is also a Wednesday night steel match at CowTown Range that is about 5 min further down the road.
Prescott USPSA match is first Saturday and third Sunday of the month. They also have IDPA and Steel Challenge. Kingman has USPSA the second Saturday and Steel Challenge the first Sunday of the month. Phoenix area generally has nearly a match every day of the week, and Tuesday Night Steel at Rio Salado has been legendary for like four decades.
Thank you and thank you for the tips. I'll have to look for the Coffee Pot!
We are in West Sedona and we are a 5 minute drive or less from a Safeway, WholeFoods, multiple convenience/pharmacy shops, and even a movie theater, etc. Between that and Amazon Prime we should be set :)
However, it looks like it will be a bit of a hike for any organized shooting activities, but when I was living in Athens GA I had some driving to do for that sort of stuff as well.
I am super excited to get into the whole Overlanding (remote 4x4 camping) and Hiking lifestyle.
Speaking of snow we came in town via Flagstaff and it was full on SnowMagedon up there, but only wet when we got into Sedona.
Yeah, I know what you mean about Gunsite..I have mixed feelings about it..but I may check it out. At this point I will have the time to get back into consistent shooting practice again, and want to start doing daily dry fire practice, with live fire twice a month and just start doing a monthly IDPA or maybe USPSA match, and perhaps forgo my habit of a yearly class and then practice that was too sporadic, or was feast or famine type of practice.
My search of the inter webs has turned up:
http://flagstaffactionshooters.org/uspsa
they seem to have both idpa and uspsa.
Yeah Flagstaff was totally snowed over a few days ago when I drove into Sedona on Jan 6th! So yeah I need an alternative during the snow season for sure. Kingman may be out of my range as it is about a 3 hour drive unfortunately.
EDIT:
I've found this in Prescott: http://yavapairecreationleague.net
So maybe Prescott, and Phoenix may be the best bets overall. Well except when it is super hot in the summer I think I'll be avoiding Phoenix! Flagstaff is the closest at around 45min so season permitting I'll probably check it out as well.
The comments about Gunsite being "dated" probably have some validity, and if I lived that close, I'd be there in a hot minute.
There are plenty of good people who put bad people in the ground and went home to their families to eat a nice steak dinner using that dated curriculum.
What I've found is that 80% to 90% of shooting school curriculums are fundamentally the same, and people love to argue about the differences on the internet.
Gabe White's Pistol Shooting Solutions, Phoenix, January 5-6, 2019.
FWIW, YMMV, etc., etc.Quote:
...Ken Campbell is the COO of Gunsite and an absolute gentleman. You would never picture him as a guy who has smoked some bad guys in his days as an Indiana sheriff. When I asked him how dogmatic is Gunsite these days in regards to the Cooper doctrine. He said Gunsite was “evolving” as evidenced by sending 3 instructors to learn from Gabe...
Rio Salado Sportman’s Club is at 3960 N Usery Pass Rd Mesa/Maricopa County. It’s north of Mesa. Google Maps say it’s about a two and a half hour drive from Sedona.
Gunsite, besides being the birthplace of much of Modern Shooting technique, has the best facility of any school I have been to. My wife and I are taking Precision Rifle there in April. The Gunsite family and spirit of Gunsite are world class. Attending a GAS (Gunsite Alumni Shoot) match in the fall is an awesome experience.
Gunsite is on my bucket list, possibly 2019. Debriefing those that have gone (250, mostly) they all focus on the overall "Gunsite experience" more than anything else. Those that went with existing skill/methods were taught the "modern technique" but were not compelled to change if they were safe and effective. Nothing they described learning was bad, just some dated/different operations of the gun. Also said- having 250 in their back pocket had better standing and made them more persuasive in some crowds.
I'd like to hear feedback on the Colorado offsite classes, here: https://www.gunsite.com/mobile-train...ite-classes-2/). Anyone been?
As long as we're mentioning AZ clubs for IDPA shooting, don't forget about Phoenix Rod & Gun Club. They host several IDPA matches every month, and from Sedona are about the same drive time as Rio Salado Sportsman's Club.
Yeah I tend to agree, so long as they are now teaching modern thumbs forward isosceles derived techniques and not pushing Weaver, or some such, still.
I just looked at their classes though and what's got me intrigued is their Battle Rifle and Precision Rifle classes! I just purchased an LMT MWS .308 and a NF 4-16 power ATACR scope and man oh man I'm way digging the prospect of taking those classes!
p.s. Are into Les Pauls?
Yeah, I just saw the battle rifle and precision rifle classes! I only have a 16" barrel for my LMT MWS .308 so I guess Battle Rifle would be more appropriate for me at this point? I've shot a 16" 556 gun out to 500 yards, couldn't make the 600 yard shot hits, with a 1-5x Burris XTRII, so extrapolating from that I'm thinking that my 16" .308 would be more of a 600-800 yard gun, but 1000 may be stretching it. What do you think?
You are a lucky man to get your wife to go to a shooting course with you! I've only managed to take my wife to a Dr. William Aprill lecture.
Yeah, I also want to get into all the mountain biking my soon to be 50 year old physique could handle! Nothing too extreme though, like those wild people careening off the sides of mountains with their bikes, yikes
And...yep, my wife is a Yoga teacher and is all over that transcendental meditation and energy vortex stuff! We'll be checking out the hot spots soon I'm sure!
My only regret now is that I don't have any land where I could shoot or else I'd have you fellas over for some Sedona Energy Vortex Tactical Training Sessions! :D
I'll say this for Gunsite:
They had four instructors in the class I took at Rogers. They had numerous instructors attend the Rangemaster NWTacCon. Several took Gabe White's class this past week. While they are obviously tied to the Gunsite doctrine, they aren't shutting themselves out to other stuff out there. Ken Campbell states that the doctrine is evolving.
I took a class (Shotgun 260) at Gunsite this past October. I'm hoping to back for a pistol class there. Even if you find yourself at odds with some doctrinal things, their facilities offer opportunities that you just don't get on the travel circuit.
As for the temperature difference mentioned above, I left Paulden in mid-afternoon, and the temp was in the 60s. An hour and a half later when I stopped in Flagstaff, the temp was in the low 40s.
Sedona is also only an hour and a half away from Ben Avery in the Phoenix area; so, there are plenty of training options available.
I have maintained for some years that if I had a young shooter that I wanted to start off with the best possible training, I would send them first to a Rogers Basic Class and then to 250 at Gunsite, to learn mindset.
My wife and I took our first class, API 270 the rifle class taught by Jeff Cooper, in 1991 before we went to Botswana hunting on our honeymoon, so we have a long association. Their facility is incredible, and for experienced shooters I would pass on the pistol classes and take the facility intensive classes like carbine (223 and 556), rifle (270), shotgun (260), Precision Rifle, and the various specialty classes.
Thank you very much for the input, good to know that they are well versed in the other "more evolved" approaches as well. And you know, if nothing else Gunsite is sort of like a historical landmark so it bears visiting for sure, or just to experience the world class facilities.
As far as Gabe White, sadly I missed his class when he first came to N. GA, as I was living in Athens GA at the time.
I think Ben Avery is a must visit for me for sure!
EH60 out of Huachuca.
Attachment 34065
And I swear it was more than 12 hours "bottle to throttle." OTOH, they were pushing to get me through the training, in the face of some nasty weather. I still maintain I would have been okay if the PC (who was also the OIC of the course) hadn't cracked open that can of dip...
He was a charismatic warrior philosopher for sure and to be venerated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGYttXa0d1k