Training price comparison/reference

[Joelk 61]

As the topic of training class prices has come up a few times I thought I would make a post where we can compile various training providers classes and costs. I will start with a few popular trainers, and as people add others I will update the post to reflect the additional input.

 

I have only listed trainers that travel, and thus would be available in NJ if YOU want to host a class. As NJ ranges are often problematic, I find that there are a LOT of classes availabe within a short drive from NJ.

 

I will use the following format, in price order, to make comparison easier:

 

Trainer/Class/price/price per 8 hour day

 

Craig Douglas-Southnarc/ ECQC or AMIS (both FOF)/ $400 for 20 hours/ $160 per 8 hour day

Chris Fry-MDTS/ Pistol, Carbine, Shotgun, etc/ $185 per day/ $185 per 8 hour day

Magpul/ Precision Rifle 1/ $750 for 4 days/ $187.5 per 8 hour day

Magpul/ Dynamic Pistol-Carbine/ $650 for 3 day/ $216 per 8 hour day

Pat Rogers-EAG Tactical/ Basic Carbine/ $450 for 2 days/ $225 per 8 hour day

James Yeager-Tactical Response/ Fighting Pistol, Rifle, etc/ $450 for 2 days/ $225 per day

Kyle Defoor-Defoor Performance Shooting/ Advanced Pistol, Carbine/ $450 for 2 days/ $225 per day

Kyle Lamb-Viking Tactics/ Carbine 1.5/ $700 for 3 days/ $233 per 8 hour day

Magpul/ Special Purpose-DMR/ $700 for 3 days/ $233 per 8 hour day

Larry Vickers-VTac/ Carbine 1, Pistol 1/ $475 for 2 days/ 237.5 per day

Rob Pincus-ICE Training/ Combat Focus Shooting/ $500 for 2 days/ $250 per 8 hour day

Magpul/ Dynamic Pistol-Carbine/ $550 for 2 days/ $275 per 8 hour day

Magpul/ Precision Rifle 2/ $850 for 3 days/ $283 per 8 hour day

Magpul/ Shotgun/ $650 for 2 days/ $325 per 8 hour day

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion Compujas, here are the NRA classes you listed. I would appreciate any more NRA classes anyone wants to list as there are LOTS of NJ providers for these.

 

NRA classes/CCW classes (I will group these by class, in price order)

 

Gun for Hire/ First steps pistol/ $185 for 4 hours/ $370 per 8 hour day

 

Green Acedemy of Personal Protection-GAPP/Basic Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun/ $150 per ?hours/ ? per 8 hour day

Shoot NJ/ Basic Pistol, Rifle, Shotgun/ $198 for 11 hours/ $144 per 8 hour day

NJ Firearms Acedemy/ Basic Pistol. $225 for 8 hours/ $225 per 8 hour day

 

Shoot NJ/ Personal protection in the home/ $225 for 11 hours/ $164 per 8 hour day

Shoot NJ/ Personal protection outside of the home/ $350 for 14 hours/ $200 per 8 hour day

 

Green Acedemy of Personal Protection-GAPP/ Fl-UT CCW class/ $140 per day (prints, photo, notary included)/ $140 per 8 hour day

 

Gun for Hire/ Private instruction/ $300 for 2 hours/ $1200 per 8 hour day(should this be under NRA or the other casses above?)

 

 

This is just a quick summary I made, and there are a lot of other trainers out there so please help me out with more submissions/info.

[Wastegate 9]

Thank you for taking the time to write this up. Very informative.

[tony357 386]

So what you are telling me is that you are price shopping and would drive out of nj to save a few bucks..

 

Reminds me of the woman who drove 200 miles to use a 1.00 off coupon..

[Joelk 61]

So what you are telling me is that you are price shopping and would drive out of nj to save a few bucks..

 

Reminds me of the woman who drove 200 miles to use a 1.00 off coupon..

 

No, I have taken some of the courses above in NJ, and at other times I have traveled out of state to take classes that were not offered in NJ.

[GAPP 11]

So what you are telling me is that you are price shopping and would drive out of nj to save a few bucks..

 

Reminds me of the woman who drove 200 miles to use a 1.00 off coupon..

I have trained with 4 of the 8 mentioned instructors (some in NJ, some much, much further away). I dont regret the driving I did to learn from them... you cant replace good training, even with a coupon.

[compujas 21]

You didn't list any local trainers (and I have an idea why you didn't). But while you may have a point for best value vs. amount of instruction, you still have to take total cost into account. There is only a single class on your list that is under $200 and 2 that are under $400. Also, while I'm not familiar with them, all of the classes you listed appear to be fairly high level classes (advanced firearm, force on force, etc.). I'm sure many people, especially being in NJ where guns are taboo, are looking for basic introductory level classes. Anyone looking for advanced classes probably won't have much issue paying a higher premium for them, or traveling (again, being NJ, not much expectation of high level classes here).

 

Bottom line is, you have a point for best value, but you're not telling the whole story.

 

NJ Firearms Academy, Basic Pistol, $225 for 8 hrs

Shoot NJ, Basic Pistol, $198 for 11 hours

Shoot NJ, Personal Protection in Home, $225 for 11 hrs

GFH, First Steps Pistol, $185 for 4 hrs

GFH, Private Instruction, $300 for 2 hrs

 

And that's just a quick google search for trainers with prices listed on their sites. As someone looking for more basic level instruction, I would much sooner pay a little bit more for a homegrown instructor that understands the plight of NJ and works to help our state.

[tony357 386]

Now i see what you did hear Nice try..

 

http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php?/topic/30069-invite-to-check-out-the-best-force-on-force-training-i-have-taken/page__pid__404556#entry404556

 

I find it humorous that some NJ training facilities charge around $200 for 4 hours of force on force training, while an internationally known trainer like Craig only charges $400 for 20 hours of training (approximately 4 hours of combatives, 6 hours of live fire, and 10 hours of force on force).

[Joelk 61]

You didn't list any local trainers (and I have an idea why you didn't). But while you may have a point for best value vs. amount of instruction, you still have to take total cost into account. There is only a single class on your list that is under $200 and 2 that are under $400. Also, while I'm not familiar with them, all of the classes you listed appear to be fairly high level classes (advanced firearm, force on force, etc.). I'm sure many people, especially being in NJ where guns are taboo, are looking for basic introductory level classes. Anyone looking for advanced classes probably won't have much issue paying a higher premium for them, or traveling (again, being NJ, not much expectation of high level classes here).

 

Bottom line is, you have a point for best value, but you're not telling the whole story.

 

NJ Firearms Academy, Basic Pistol, $225 for 8 hrs

Shoot NJ, Basic Pistol, $198 for 11 hours

Shoot NJ, Personal Protection in Home, $225 for 11 hrs

GFH, First Steps Pistol, $185 for 4 hrs

GFH, Private Instruction, $300 for 2 hrs

 

And that's just a quick google search for trainers with prices listed on their sites. As someone looking for more basic level instruction, I would much sooner pay a little bit more for a homegrown instructor that understands the plight of NJ and works to help our state.

 

Thanks for your input compujas. I realize that I was looking at this from my perspective, having taken the basic NRA classes many years ago I neglected to mention them. I will amend my list with another section for the basic NRA classes.

 

As to the trainers listed in the first list, several of them have done classes in NJ, and ALL of them would do so if someone wants to host them.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

We also have to take into account are these brick and mortar places, overhead, also the big one, what people are willing to spend and what they get for their money. While the initial cost may be a little lower, factor in cost of travel, time away, lodging etc, it;s an apples to oranges comparison.

 

Not faulting, or putting this list down, not at all, but from what we all read around this place, we all can see why this list was put together. A new person just showing up here and doing a little reading and catching up can see that. I know this is a competitive business and I have no dog in the fight and I have nothing against any facility in or outside of NJ, but to me the reason driving this, well I just don't think it's cool, but that's just my opinion and like they say, opinions are like,, well we all know the rest.

 

Just some observations from an outsider FWIW.

[Joelk 61]

Hd2000fxdl, I would like this list to be a legitimate tool to anyone seeking training. I will include any and all trainers posted.

 

I am really glad compujas suggested the NRA courses (I will work on adding to that list as I have time) too as there are a ton of them around and I think it is great thing for potential students to see what their options are. Maybe someone who had never considered training, or didn't know where to start, will use one of these lists to get started in training.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

Joel, I agree, it's nice to get the information out to people and agree we all have choices, but in all fairness, you might want to add in notes for each.

 

Travel required, Have their own facility, lodging or overnight and number of days, are they a 5 day a week operation flexible days and times for easy scheduling, or are they not flexible and only limited days and harder to schedule.

 

A full out Apples to Apples comparison would be nice, and I think when all things are considered, they all may be a little closer in price to what you receive than is initially seen on the surface, especially when you factor time and convenience to the prospective customers.

[Joelk 61]

Joel, I agree, it's nice to get the information out to people and agree we all have choices, but in all fairness, you might want to add in notes for each.

 

Travel required, Have their own facility, lodging or overnight and number of days, are they a 5 day a week operation flexible days and times for easy scheduling, or are they not flexible and only limited days and harder to schedule.

 

A full out Apples to Apples comparison would be nice, and I think when all things are considered, they all may be a little closer in price to what you receive than is initially seen on the surface, especially when you factor time and convenience to the prospective customers.

While I agree with your concept, I don't think is is practical in reality as every trainer I listed (other than the newly added NRA list) conducts classes at multiple locations (and even some of the NRA trainers conduct classes at multiple locations).

 

Also every one of them will do classes at NJ ranges, if you can secure the range. This can be difficult in at some ranges in NJ. However, I know that a couple of the trainers I listed will be conducting classes at NJ ranges this year.

[hd2000fxdl 422]

While I agree with your concept, I don't think is is practical in reality as every trainer I listed (other than the newly added NRA list) conducts classes at multiple locations (and even some of the NRA trainers conduct classes at multiple locations).

 

Also every one of them will do classes at NJ ranges, if you can secure the range. This can be difficult in at some ranges in NJ. However, I know that a couple of the trainers I listed will be conducting classes at NJ ranges this year.

 

And that does bring me back to the point, as a customer do I have to make special plans for when they might be in the area, or can I schedule a class at almost anytime.

 

Just like Airplane, Train, Bus schedules, people will pay more for convenience, and justly so..

[bry@n 195]

I agree that sometimes it more about experience than cost of travel. If I wanted to train with trainer x, timeline fit and it was within a relative distance that I was okay with, I would do it.

 

but, same goes for local training. I may not have time to drive to VA etc.. I believe that comparing training, that everything should be compared. Cost of travel and lodging should be included. Now, if you wanna train with trainer x, at Y location, cost will not matter to you or at least me if that is what I wanted to do.

[Joelk 61]

I agree that sometimes it more about experience than cost of travel. If I wanted to train with trainer x, timeline fit and it was within a relative distance that I was okay with, I would do it.

 

but, same goes for local training. I may not have time to drive to VA etc.. I believe that comparing training, that everything should be compared. Cost of travel and lodging should be included. Now, if you wanna train with trainer x, at Y location, cost will not matter to you or at least me if that is what I wanted to do.

 

I make all of my training class selections based on the trainer, and then I try to find the closest and cheapest venue. I have trained with a couple of the trainers I listed in NJ. The ones I have traveled to train with I did so because they did not have any classes scheduled in NJ, and then I still select the closest class.

 

However when I take classes in Culpeper, VA, which has become one of my favorite training venues, I normally go with 1 to 3 additional people, and we split the driving (4 hours each way from my house in south Jersey) and hotel expenses so for a 3 day class it costs me about $125 for travel/lodging. If I take a 3 day class in north Jersey I will have to drive back and forth each day (about 3 to 3.5 hours a day, plus gas and tolls) so it would often cost me more to take a class in NJ, and even if I can carpool the NJ classes cost me almost as much to attend as traveling to VA to attend the training of my choice.

[bry@n 195]

I make all of my training class selections based on the trainer, and then I try to find the closest and cheapest venue. I have trained with a couple of the trainers I listed in NJ. The ones I have traveled to train with I did so because they did not have any classes scheduled in NJ, and then I still select the closest class.

 

However when I take classes in Culpeper, VA, which has become one of my favorite training venues, I normally go with 1 to 3 additional people, and we split the driving (4 hours each way from my house in south Jersey) and hotel expenses so for a 3 day class it costs me about $125 for travel/lodging. If I take a 3 day class in north Jersey I will have to drive back and forth each day (about 3 to 3.5 hours a day, plus gas and tolls) so it would often cost me more to take a class in NJ, and even if I can carpool the NJ classes cost me almost as much to attend as traveling to VA to attend the training of my choice.

 

just like in house shopping, location, location, location. What works for you, may not for everybody else. So it's up to each of us to decide for ourselves. I see your point and agree that I would make my choices on who I would wanna train with and then find the best $$ options I have.

 

If I lived closer to one of the training locations in NJ, it would make a big difference. Also, being home everyday for kids is the first consideration. I may be able to get away for 8-10 hours but not overnights.

[Joelk 61]

And that does bring me back to the point, as a customer do I have to make special plans for when they might be in the area, or can I schedule a class at almost anytime.

 

Just like Airplane, Train, Bus schedules, people will pay more for convenience, and justly so..

 

I agree that convenience is worth something, but is it worth twice the price?

 

And that is making the assumption that all training is fungible which I do not think is the case. However I am not taking any position as to the comparative quality of any trainers. I will leave that up to each of us as students.

 

I will continue to post class reviews and invites for anyone who may be interested. I would also hope other students will do the same. I know from Tosser's recent NE Shooters 2012 Summit thread at least 5 people from this forum are now going (and splitting travel/lodging costs).

[Joelk 61]

just like in house shopping, location, location, location. What works for you, may not for everybody else. So it's up to each of us to decide for ourselves. I see your point and agree that I would make my choices on who I would wanna train with and then find the best $$ options I have.

 

If I lived closer to one of the training locations in NJ, it would make a big difference. Also, being home everyday for kids is the first consideration. I may be able to get away for 8-10 hours but not overnights.

I will be the first to admit I tend to look at things from my perspective, and I thank Compujas for pointing that out as to the NRA classes. I hope everyone interested in training in NJ will post up whatever class/trainer they like, and as I said, I will add them to the list to make it more usefull to all.

[crackaloon 15]

Ya know. I'm no expert and on top of that, I have 4 kids, a job, and a house. There's so much more than cost involved in a training class.

-when it is

-where it is

-class size

-number of instructors per pupil

When it comes down to it, if someone is offering an 8 hour class...well I probably just plain old can't do it. 4 hours is pushing it when I have to drive somewhere and home afterwards. So, if a class is just plain useless I'd like to know. If a class costs more but it's closer because the instructor travels or just happens to be located near me, it matters more to me. I'm not rich, but my time is valuable too.

If I worked a job that included needing a firearm I would consider more travel/time, but then I'd be taking more classes to get different perspectives too and cost still wouldn't be my #1 consideration.

All that said, it's nice to have information. Call me lazy, but links to web sites or at least training locations are key too.

[rgiffour 1]

I was charging $60 for the 3-4 hour First Steps, and $120 for the 10-11 hour Basic Pistol.. I need to up my rates..

 

I usuall rent a small conference room at the Ramada or whatever (no firearms in the room/bldg).. and then take the participants (upto 4) to the local range.

 

For me its fun and helpful to others for basic firearms safety/knowledge..

 

For those FL permits its pretty painless..

[Krdshrk 3,878]

Travis Haley and Chris Costa are no longer with Magpul.

 

Magpul Dynamics still has classes though.

$550 - 2 day course - Dynamic Handgun/Carbine classes

$650 - 3 day course - Dynamic Handgun/Carbine classes

$650 - 2 day course - Shotgun

$750 - 4 day course - Precision Rifle 1

$850 - 3 day course - Precision Rifle 2

$700 - 3 day course - Special Purpose/Designated Marksman Rifle

[Joelk 61]

Travis Haley and Chris Costa are no longer with Magpul. Magpul Dynamics still has classes though. $550 - 2 day course - Dynamic Handgun/Carbine classes $650 - 3 day course - Dynamic Handgun/Carbine classes $650 - 2 day course - Shotgun $750 - 4 day course - Precision Rifle 1 $850 - 3 day course - Precision Rifle 2 $700 - 3 day course - Special Purpose/Designated Marksman Rifle

Magpul added to OP