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Carbine courses in Austin area?

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  • NeckBeard

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    in an attempt to re-energize my shooting skizzils, i want to get more training under my belt.

    I found a few places that teach "carbine courses" but only to cops and military (has always boggled my mind why places shut out us lowly peasants), but nothing really of interest...

    Does anyone know anyplace offering a decent level of quality in a 2 day course perhaps?
    Hurley's Gold
     

    Jon Payne

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    John Chambers teaches for SI at Best of the West.



    The two most dangerous places in today's world:
    1.) a gun free zone
    2.) your comfort zone
     

    NeckBeard

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    I'm almost positive he does, they just sometimes have Mil/LE only classes. Same with Pistol.

    the ones i want to take are mil/le only. i asked them why they block regular people from taking them and they replied with some crap like they allow properly vetter civilians to take classes, but never answered me as to why the carbine courses wont allow us lowly civilians.
     

    rushthezeppelin

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    the ones i want to take are mil/le only. i asked them why they block regular people from taking them and they replied with some crap like they allow properly vetter civilians to take classes, but never answered me as to why the carbine courses wont allow us lowly civilians.

    I wonder if they would take a NYPD cop over a Texas civilian. If so that's pretty sad, I bet I can outshoot half of the NYPD on a bad day and I'm not THAT good of a shot.
     

    NeckBeard

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    I wonder if they would take a NYPD cop over a Texas civilian. If so that's pretty sad, I bet I can outshoot half of the NYPD on a bad day and I'm not THAT good of a shot.

    i tend to not want to give my money to places that prefer training cops over civilians. They just aid and abet a growing issue in this country.
     

    breakingcontact

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    Looks like you have had several recommendations based on personal relationship and experience. Hope you can find something that works for you.

    Its a shame that 95% of the carbine training i got was from prone and fox holes positions.
     

    SIG_Fiend

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    i tend to not want to give my money to places that prefer training cops over civilians. They just aid and abet a growing issue in this country.

    I think you are misunderstanding the intent behind why some classes are restricted and some aren't. Jeff, like pretty much all instructors of his type of background (military special operations) tend to be somewhat risk averse in terms of vetting students. It's completely understandable. Consider the gravity of the situation. You train some random guy one day, he turns around and goes active shooter the next day. That could turn out real bad. I, myself, have had people proposition me to train small groups of individuals in carbine and pistol, and due to all of the circumstances, I can guarantee you 99.99% they were cartel. In that case, should I have "given them the benefit of the doubt"? What if they go on to use those skills to kill Mil/LE back in Mexico, or worse yet, within our borders? My life would certainly be over with, but more importantly, many other lives may have been lost because I failed to do my due diligence.

    There's nothing wrong with vetting students. For certain classes, instructors like Jeff may also cover additional material like specific tactics for specific situations, specific tactics for LE, hostage rescue, etc. It's understandable that a person with that background would be very choosy about who they let into that sort of class. Teach the wrong person, and you may have just taught a criminal or active shooter some valuable skills to defeat the tactical team that ends up trying to take them down. Ultimately it's a matter of due diligence.

    What exactly are you looking for in a carbine course? There are tons of multi-day comprehensive carbine classes out there, but for some of them you may have to travel. There is quite a bit more training and training schools in and around the Houston area, for example. At the end of the day, ultimately we're talking about a simple machine with a few buttons/levers. Honestly, as cool as it may be, it doesn't take a super "cool guy" class and 3k rounds to get back in the swing of things, or learn some valuable skills to practice outside of class.
     

    NeckBeard

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    I think you are misunderstanding the intent behind why some classes are restricted and some aren't. Jeff, like pretty much all instructors of his type of background (military special operations) tend to be somewhat risk averse in terms of vetting students. It's completely understandable. Consider the gravity of the situation. You train some random guy one day, he turns around and goes active shooter the next day. That could turn out real bad. I, myself, have had people proposition me to train small groups of individuals in carbine and pistol, and due to all of the circumstances, I can guarantee you 99.99% they were cartel. In that case, should I have "given them the benefit of the doubt"? What if they go on to use those skills to kill Mil/LE back in Mexico, or worse yet, within our borders? My life would certainly be over with, but more importantly, many other lives may have been lost because I failed to do my due diligence.

    There's nothing wrong with vetting students. For certain classes, instructors like Jeff may also cover additional material like specific tactics for specific situations, specific tactics for LE, hostage rescue, etc. It's understandable that a person with that background would be very choosy about who they let into that sort of class. Teach the wrong person, and you may have just taught a criminal or active shooter some valuable skills to defeat the tactical team that ends up trying to take them down. Ultimately it's a matter of due diligence.

    What exactly are you looking for in a carbine course? There are tons of multi-day comprehensive carbine classes out there, but for some of them you may have to travel. There is quite a bit more training and training schools in and around the Houston area, for example. At the end of the day, ultimately we're talking about a simple machine with a few buttons/levers. Honestly, as cool as it may be, it doesn't take a super "cool guy" class and 3k rounds to get back in the swing of things, or learn some valuable skills to practice outside of class.

    just enjoyed the rush of an intense course. i kinda miss it in a way. ill travel, but prefer something closer. i was quite spoiled when i used to live. :)

    it pays to use due diligence, but whats good for the goose should also be good for the gander. i'd prefer not having some watered down FUDD course because i am not a cop or in the military.
     

    Wabbit69

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    I'm in a similar boat. Pistol courses in the area seem plentiful. Over the last year, I've managed to get three classes in, starting with with the fundamentals, up to some more advanced stuff, and I'm signed up for two more classes next year. I'm picking up my first rifle this week (FN FS2000) and will need some training. So far, I've only found some "advanced" carbine courses locally. I need to start with the basics of safe handling and fundamental rifle marksmanship before I consider taking even intermediate classes.
    As a student, I don't at all feel bent out of shape being "vetted". Although I don't think anybody's done one on me since my CHL, it wouldn't bother me a bit for an instructor to add the cost of a criminal back-ground check to the tuition. I can imagine that one bad apple can ruin the entire career of an instructor.
    Anyway, I would like to find a decent course for basic carbine sometime this spring. Eventually, I would like to find some intermediate and advanced courses applicable to CIVILIAN defenders, as I'm probably never going to go out actively seeking trouble.
     
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