“What should I bring to a BullsEye CCW class?”
“How can I prepare for a BullsEye CCW class?”
“Where can I buy my ammunition for my BullsEye CCW class?”
“Can I complete my BullsEye CCW classroom and range training at the same location?”
“Why should I pick BullsEye instead of XYZ School for intermediate or advanced training?”
“How do your rates compare to your competitors?”
“What should I bring to a BullsEye CCW class?”
For an initial or renewal CCW class, bring enough factory ammunition to qualify with each handgun you want on your CCW permit. Each qualification attempt for each handgun will use 20 rounds. If you are uncertain about how much to bring, more ammunition is better. You can always take home unused ammunition that you brought to the range.
Other items you should bring include extra magazines for pistols or speed loaders for revolvers, snacks to eat, water, mosquito repellent, and a waist belt holster. If you don’t have an appropriate waist belt holster, there will be some holsters you can borrow to use during the class. Don’t forget your belt for wearing the holster!
The ranges BullsEye uses will have overhead cover to shelter you from rain for much of the time you are shooting, but there will times you will be exposed to rain. So if rain is forecast, be sure to wear appropriate clothing, including shoes or boots that are water resistant. Dress for the forecast temperature – layered clothing is best so you can add or remove clothing to stay comfortable. Gloves can be used if they do not interfere with your grip or trigger control. Bring a hat to help protect you from ejecting ammunition cases. Don’t wear low cut or tank tops in the summer that can catch hot ejected ammunition cases.
“How can I prepare for a BullsEye CCW class?”
You should familiarize yourself with each handgun you want to qualify with and list on your CCW permit. The rule of thumb is, the smaller the handgun and the shorter the barrel, the more practice it will take to qualify. If at all possible, shoot each handgun from 21 feet (7 yards) at a paper plate size target. Remember, slow press of the trigger; don’t jerk or speed up the trigger.
Having stated that, BullsEye CCW classes are small enough that each student will benefit from one-on-one instruction for using the sights, gripping the handgun, and operating the trigger.
“Where can I buy my ammunition for my BullsEye CCW class?”
If you want to avoid the time-consuming ammunition background checks that are now required in stores, California law has a solution for you. BullsEye students are allowed by state law to buy ammunition from BullsEye without a background check, if the ammunition is consumed at the range during the class. So if you order your ammunition in advance by emailing or calling BullsEye, the ammunition will be waiting for you at the range the day of your BullsEye class. BullsEye sells most handgun calibers in convenient 20 round amounts for qualifications.
“Can I complete my BullsEye CCW classroom and range training at the same location?”
Yes, you can! At BullsEye, the class instruction and range qualifications are completed during the same class. No waiting for a “range day” two weeks later, on another day you have to get off work, as you would have to do in some CCW courses. For your 16 hour initial CCW, the BullsEye class is completed in two 8 hour days. CCW renewals are completed in 8 hours, both range and classroom. No shooting at noisy public ranges while other random shooters are handling firearms near you. We reserve the entire range for our instruction.
“Why should I pick BullsEye instead of XYZ School for intermediate or advanced training?”
Intermediate and advanced tactical shooting training is available from many sources across the country. Many of these businesses are highly rated and have quality content. BullsEye staff understand that, much like martial arts, there are different approaches that work for different people. However, advanced tactical shooting requires the incorporation of certain training techniques in order to be effective.
We must comment on several important advanced firearms training techniques that BullsEye utilizes, that is not used by all firearms instructors. No one can excel at advanced tactical firearms training without learning and practicing multi-dimensional shooting. (In other words, live-fire shooting in multiple directions at multiple targets.) Indoor ranges cannot accommodate this training, and many outdoor ranges do not allow such shooting. Conventional indoor and outdoor ranges are designed for linear training – for shooting at a target or targets in one direction downrange.
If anyone is claiming that you can successfully complete an advanced tactical firearms course without utilizing multi-dimensional shooting, they could be wasting your time and your money. There are a number of mainstream schools that do just this. It is absurd to assume that armed assailants would attack you from only one direction. When you are attacked, you will perform as you have been trained, and that includes your ability to return fire to assailants in more than one direction. Any of the range facilities BullsEye uses allow you to shoot 360 degrees, in other words, in all directions around you.
In addition to shooting in more than one direction, the small class size allows instruction in substantial movement to the rear, to the sides, to cover, and advancing on the target. No “one step to the left” or “one step to the right” in BullsEye classes! The BullsEye movement training is much more realistic and effective than what is taught at a number of mainstream schools.
Force on force training is another essential training technique that should be instructed by any firearms instructor that claims to prepare you for prevailing in life-threatening encounters. Using airsoft firearm replicas that mimic the size, shape, weight, and operation of the actual firearms, BullsEye students participate in scenarios that involve gunfights with opponents. Stress is introduced in the exercises, to provide the experience of dealing with an armed threat while adrenaline is pumping and sensory abilities are impaired. Practicing under these conditions is essential and should be part of the content for any comprehensive advanced course.
Another important consideration that has to be included in advanced tactical firearms training is that the student to instructor ratio must be low. Preferably, no more than four or five students should be instructed at the same time by the same instructor. Such a low student to instructor ratio is the policy of BullsEye for all courses. Other firearms instructors allow more students, as many as 20 or 30 per certified instructor at the same time. No matter how good the instructors, this ratio will result in less being learned and retained. Just ask any school teacher about class sizes.
“How do your rates compare to your competitors?”
We strive to provide courses at BullsEye that have quality content with reasonable rates. Our 8 hour CCW renewal course is $160.00 and our 16 hour CCW initial course is $320.00, less than or comparable to many local competitors without the typical “cattle herd” classes. Our 8 hour intermediate and advanced handgun and rifle courses are $180.00 each per student. Nationwide, competitors charge $300 to $600 per student for a comparable intermediate or advanced course content, with many more students per class. We keep our courses convenient and affordable so that you can take several courses and develop your skills further for the same cost of one course from competitors.
“I’m not a SWAT team member. I have physical limitations. Would I benefit from your courses, or would I be frustrated trying to complete your courses?”
Our CCW courses are not strenuous, in fact, many of our CCW students tell us that BullsEye CCW classes are not as tiring or demanding as other local courses that they have completed in the past.
We make every effort at BullsEye to train our students at their appropriate level, and to introduce new concepts when we believe the student is ready. Our courses are instructed in a positive, patient manner to develop the confidence of our students and minimize stress. We want you to develop your shooting skills and remember our instruction as an experience worth recommending to others.
We do not utilize a “boot camp” mentality, as we believe anyone who pays for training should not have to endure physical suffering to learn. Your time and money is valuable. Why should you be spending it pretending you are in a police academy or in military boot camp? We want students who are serious about learning and don’t need someone to force them to exercise in order to learn how to use firearms!
I live out of the area. Are there adequate accommodations for me to stay overnight? Are there local airports?
There are many hotels, motels, campgrounds and restaurants in the Redding area. There are accommodations to meet the needs and budget of anyone. Shasta Lake, a large reservoir and a popular resort location, is located a few miles north of Redding.
For classes at ranges north of Redding, there are convenient motels, reasonably priced cabin rentals, and campgrounds all located along the Interstate 5 corridor, in the scenic Upper Sacramento River Canyon. Upon request, a list of area motels and cabin rentals will be included in your course registration packet.
Sacramento International Airport is located about two hours driving time south of the Redding area on Interstate 5. Commuter flights to Redding Airport are available from several California airports. Car rentals are available at many locations in Redding. For private pilots attending BullsEye courses, there is a small airport, Mott Field, located near the Dunsmuir/Mt. Shasta area ranges.