Someone looking for practical knowledge, in a variety of topics, might find they are sometimes faced with a choice of either seeking private tutoring, or a group class. Both of these options have strong support as a learning venue. The group class often offers a lower cost per hour training rate due to the economies of scale. Additionally, a group class can be a fun social event and you may also learn from the questions, success, and mistakes exhibited by the other classmates. However, for some students, particularly very focused students, a private training opportunity makes sense both as a learner and financially.

The financial advantage of private firearms training is the ability to tailor the lessons and structure to your specific needs and desires. Attending an advanced handgun class that incorporates a lot of movements can be fun, but if your real desire is to work on the draw from concealment, then you might find that the class, while enriching, is not what you need. A private handgun training session might make more sense. There the instructor can serve as much as a teacher and a coach, helping you work through your goals.

Another benefit of private training is the ability to have every iteration of every exercise receive close scrutiny for maximum value. We recently had a rifle shooter at California Tactical Academy who booked some private range time and lessons with a very specific goal. As the only shooter on the range, it was very easy to set up drills to diagnose and correct some shooter errors. Furthermore, there was no wasted time with other shooters or drills that did not specifically address the shooters’ deficiencies. Often time when people attend a group class, they are not aware of their deficiencies and unless there are exercises designed specifically to detect and correct such, the problems may continue to go undetected. With one on one private rifle training, these deficiencies are quickly brought to light with an experienced instructor, and the remedies can be tailored for that particular shooter.

As a beginning shooter, private handgun or rifle training has the advantage of being much less intimidating. There are no other shooters on the line. The only noise is from your shots, and there is no brass flying to break your concentration. The pace of the class is very much tailored to your abilities and comfort levels. There are no egos or other students who might have different abilities or backgrounds that so greatly differ from yours, that the learning environment is distracting or compromised.

For advanced shooters, they very likely know what they want to work on, and only need coaching on the proper methods of a technique, or diagnostics for why they are not where they want to be. A good instructor will spot the problems and the time can be spent working on one, particular area to become proficient. In a group class, we might spend an hour on presentations from the holster, giving the student the knowledge and ability to practice on their own. In a private class, we might only need 30 minutes on the mechanics of the presentation, and the remaining time is spent on refinement and more advanced holster work such as movement, proper trigger prep, and other areas supplemental to the draw stroke.

If you are in the Los Angeles area, and are interested in private training, California Tactical Academy has a cadre of very capable and experienced instructors who can help. Additionally, private training at California Tactical Academy is done on individual ranges, and the cost of the range is included in the price of training. I recently visited an indoor range and noted a private lesson being conducted on a nearby shooting bay. Imagine trying to learn or refine your skills, while immediately next to you is some idiot rapid firing a .44 magnum? That alone can cause you to flinch, even when you are not shooting. For the record, I was that idiot and when I recognized that there was a private lesson going on, I moved to a different bay so as to not impact the student. It is a much better learning environment to have a full, outdoor range for just you and the instructor. And for the advanced students, the possibilities for movement, barricades, and other props at California tactical Academy, presents a wide range of training possibilities.  One of the other advantages of private firearms training at California Tactical Academy is the ability to book a range and instructor for your group. You and several like-minded friends can have a private, group class for exactly what you want to work on. We recently structured a class for a group of military personnel who want to work on very specific skills prior to deployment. Skills that, because of the military training schedule, were not due to come up for training in the foreseeable future. Rather than go without the necessary skills, they scheduled a group private lesson on one of our ranges and got the information and skills they needed. Group class, or private class, California Tactical Academy can meet your needs.

We’ll see you at the range.

About the writer

Mike Lazarus

Military and Law Enforcement Veteran

FBI certified firearm instructor

MP5 and Sub Machine gun instructor

Defensive tactics instructor

BONUS

A look inside California Tactical Academy’s private training