Course Reviews and Testimonials

THE FOLLOWING QUOTES ARE FROM LETTERS OR E-MAIL COMMUNICATIONS WE HAVE RECIEVED FROM GRADUATES OF COURSES SPONSORED BY THE F.I.R.E. INSTITUTE. NONE OF THE QUOTED CORRESPONDENTS ARE OFFICIALS OR EMPLOYEES OF THE F.I.R.E. INSTITUTE, AND ALL COMMENTS WERE UNSOLICITED.

Pete,

I just want to let you know how well your class prepared me on the carbine. I just graduated Blackwater training and shot a 288 out of 300 qualification and nailed all of the movement and tactical drills. Yes, I got the Rock River running smooth. I look forward to training with you again some day. You really did make a big difference.

Regards,

John Graves

Mark Houser, journalist for the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, wrote an article on our Randy Cain / Steve Tarani CQT course published in the Living Section of the (Tuesday) March 2, 2004 edition of the daily newspaper. Please click here to read the article.

Please click the following links to read in depth reviews of our Basic Pistol and Basic and Intermediate Carbine courses.

Basic Tactical Pistol Jun 2004 by the owner of the Pennsylvania AR Shooters site

Intermediate Carbine Jul 2003 by the owner of the Maryland AR Shooters site

Basic Tactical Carbine Jun 2003 by the owner of the Maryland AR Shooters site

Basic Tactical Carbine Jun 2003 by the owner of the Pennsylvania AR Shooters site

I have taken five FIRE courses now, and I can say I've enjoyed every one of them. FIRE courses are geared to stress three things. First and foremost is safety, second is that the environment is conducive to learning, and third, is that the students enjoy the course. I can tell you that FIRE was successful in all three areas in all the courses I've taken.

One of the courses I've taken is the Personal Firearms Tactics course. This course teaches students the basics of the tactics involved in dealing with dangerous situations. The tactics are simple, yet apply to a wide range of self-defense situations. The course started with a lecture that encouraged the students to participate in the discussion. We discussed among many things, the tactical principles, laws about the use of deadly force, and the importance of having a plan to defend one's self before an emergency arises.

We moved right into putting the tactical principles we just learned into practice with a simulator where we cleared a small building. Later in the course we did some live fire simulators with pop up targets. The use of pop up targets added the realism of not knowing where a threat would come from. Not knowing where the threat would come from meant you needed to use tactics to see and deal with the threat effectively. The instructor kept telling us that the course was about decision making. Staying cool was the key to making good decisions.

This course gave us a chance to practice our decision making skills. We learned from our mistakes, and became better at dealing with a threat. What I learned in this course might just save my life someday.

-- Steve

In Sept. of 1999, I bought my first semiautomatic pistol. I purchased a Glock model 32 in .357 SIG. Having purchased it for self defense, I felt obligated to get some form of training to not only learn how the pistol functions, but also what legal aspects of using deadly force could occur.

I took my first F.I.R.E. Institute sponsored Basic Tactical Pistol course in June of 2000 after seeing a flyer outlining the course description at the Greater Pitt Gun Club where I happened to be sighting in my deer rifles.

I called Peter Georgiades to get registered and get information on what was needed on my part to participate in this training. Peter organizes all of the courses and also teaches the Carbine Class. He is also a lawyer and shares his expertise on the legal ramifications of using deadly force.

After going over the course description and asking each participant what they expected to get out of this class, he turned the class over to Giles Stock. Giles reviewed his background and what was expected of each student from a safety standpoint. As he asked each student what firearm they were using, I was impressed with his overall knowledge of each and every firearm. We also viewed a tape by Col. Jeff Cooper on mindset and different degrees of awareness.

The shooting portion of the course was geared for those of us with very limited experience with semiautomatic pistols and revolvers but also was a review of the basic handgun skills for those in the class with more experience.

The three-day class taught us how to SAFELY operate a handgun, draw from the holster, reload the gun, trigger control, clearing of malfunctions and use of flashlights for lowlight conditions. We also shot from different positions including the Weaver stance to kneeling or prone.

Class size was limited to 12 students which seemed to be just right for the size of range we were in. The class was run very professionally by Mr. Stock but light enough for all to have a good time while learning. The class ended by shooting at reactive steel targets (pepper poppers) which was fun in that you could hear the hits and watch the targets fall.

In conclusion, the course covered the basic elements of mindset, marksmanship, and gun handling with quality professional instruction. I would highly recommend training through the F.I.R.E. Institute to anyone interested in becoming more proficient with a handgun for defensive use.

-- Hans Dalke

The Night / Lowlight handgun class sponsored by the F.I.R.E Institute and instructed by Giles Stock was an excellent addition to the Basic Tactical Pistol Class.

Learning to manipulate a handgun in almost total darkness took a fair amount of effort (especially for this beginner). Although we were instructed by Giles to not look at our firearm while performing press check / mag checks, it seemed more difficult to verify the actual condition of my handgun. Magazine changes were also more difficult but if the procedure was done as instructed in the daylight classes, it came together quite well.

Shooting accuracy fell off somewhat as light faded and tritium didn't show up.

When we started using flashlights, shot placement was all over the target but with a little practice and getting comfortable with a specific technique (Harries worked best for me), the groups got better with time.

The class moved onto shooting at steel with a variety of different lighting ranging from overhead range lights to flares placed in front of and behind our targets. Headlights with flashing lights (one of the officers in our class volunteered his vehicle for the added lighting) behind us coupled with people walking back and forth caused shadows to make shooting considerably more difficult as did the smoke from the flares.

While this was going on, Peter Georgiades (who heads up F.I.R.E and sets up a variety of additional classes) took one student at a time and ran us through a very simple structure clearing. I say simple meaning that anyone who previously trained at clearing a house probably would do well. I immediately screwed up and would probably have been shot shortly after entering the structure but learned very quickly what not to do in this situation.

Heading back to the range, Giles had people shooting at pepper poppers at 30 - 35 yards with dying flares and very little light.

I did fairly well at this and attribute it to the Heinie Straight Eight Slant Pros (Night Sights) I had installed. This configuration of two tritium dots one over the other works for me and was suggested to me by Giles at my first Basic Tactical Pistol Class.

Because the majority of all armed confrontations occur in lowlight conditions, I believe this training is a must for any person who intends to use a handgun for personal and family protection.

Realizing exactly how little I know about firearms and the training needed to become even semi-proficient leads me to know that these first few classes are but the beginning.

Additional training I intend to take will be carbine, shotgun, practical rifle and any other forms of defensive training that Peter will make available through the F.I.R.E. Institute.

-- Hans Dalke

© 2003 F.I.R.E. Institute