MO...with all due respect sir, we are talking about Basic firearms instruction, not advanced combat classes.

Ever been to the world class SIG Academy? The head of the Academy when it started out was Bank Miller...a friend of mine. I've taken the week long Tactical Pistol Instructor Course (Instructor level course to teach instructors how to transition officers from revolvers to semi-autos), Low Light Firing Course and their two day ammunition effectiveness class.

Over the years I had several of their Basic Pistol Students take the NRA BP Course...I noted that none of them were very good shots initially. One of the at the time "older" couples came up to me as raved that they could not believe they "had their own instructors" while on the line...I thought this was "odd". A few years later I found out why he had made this statement...

In 2013 one of my beginning tactical students opened Granite State Range in Hudson, NH. He wanted me to be his head of training and while I would have loved to take the job it was an hour and fourtyfive minute drive from my house and I didn't want to move to that area of the state. So instead I interviewed candidates for the position for him.

One of the guys was a sergeant for a local PD who was their chief firearms instructor and just happened to be an instructor at SIG on those weekends when all their big name instructors were off representing the company at shoots or trade shows. So I ask about the classes...9-16 students...he does all the classroom work... On the range...if they have over 10 students he gets an assistant!!!!! 10/1 student/instructor ratio... And that's why none of their people who came to my classes could shoot to the $150 they paid for the SIG class...

And it hasn't changed. Two summers ago a friend who helped out on the line at the clubs courses took his two daughters to SIG for their Basic class... On the range..9 students, one instructor. And the guns for these new students many of whom had never fired a handgun before... 9mm SIG pistols....shot about 50 rounds....really... Three hours in the classroom and three on the range. What they were taught was how to safely make noise... At $150 a piece.

The NRA classes...1/1 on line instruction. 100-150 rounds of .22 ammo and another 50 rounds of centerfire over the course of two days/16 hours for a whole $75.00.

Hope other big name academies are a little better....

If you can not deal with reality, reality will deal with you....