Training in Phoenix, AZ at Guns Plus?

GAC · July 7, 2002, 10:09 PM

Has anyone on this forum taken any pistol classes from Guns Plus out of Surprise? The gunstore is Guns Plus but the training (run by the store owner) is called Security Enforcement Training Academy. They sound pretty decent and have been around for at least a couple years.

They offer several different pistol classes and I am considering taking one after I attend one of Glendale Community College's pistol courses this summer. If anyone has direct or indirect experience with their training what did you think? Was it worth your time and cost? Any other schools in the Valley you'd recommend? No, I'm not able to travel up to Gunsite right now.

krept · July 8, 2002, 10:02 AM

Is that place the run by Ken Senft (or close to that name?) If so, I don't have much info on him but he is a really nice guy if you need help.

Some other ideas, places to look...

- Around 28th ave or so and Indian School is Arizona Sportsman that has an indoor range and I believe taught classes. Bad news is I think that (word has it) they closed their doors due to the palce being frequented by local gangbangers. I think they were bought out by the store next door... a tactical shop... Arizona Tactical? I think they might have even been the ones to teach the classes next door and may still be teaching. I corresponded with a manager over there and he was a nice guy.

- Ben Avery... don't they have classes out there pretty frequently?

If anyone has any other places or comments on the aforementioned ones, I'm all ears. I'm looking for a good place as well.

How was GCCs class? I've heard nothing but good things about them as well.

shepsan · July 8, 2002, 10:07 AM

I took a CCF course from Ken Senft of GunsPlus last year. It was well worth my time and money.

Ken is an excellent instructor and presented a clear and well defined curricula.

I appreciated the fact that he took the time to fully answer our questions without demeaning or humiliating those of us who knew nothing about firearms.

The course was quite detailed in content. We leaned about safety, general gun handling and received a good foundation on Arizona and federal gun laws.

The time we spent at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility target range was well supervised. We received general class and individual shooting instruction.

I have no hesitation in recommending the GunsPlus CCW course.
GunsPlus also offers a number of other hands-on courses. All are moderately priced.

GAC · July 8, 2002, 08:45 PM

Yes, it's run by Ken Seft. I am taking the Firearms 2 course at Glendale this month. I attended the CCW class there a couple weeks ago and it was not bad. The instructor for the CCW class is the range master for the Sheriff's Department and is very knowledgable and a big gun collector. He even gave me a box of Hornady hollow points for my Makarov.

The Firearms 2 course will be taught by a different instructor, but I've met him before and he seemed pretty sharp and knowledgable as well.

Krept, the range you are thinking of is Shooters' World and owned by the Arizona Sportsman chain. The instructor of my CCW class used to teach classes there a few years ago and the place has since changed hands a few times. One thing he mentioned was that the air can get fairly polluted after a lot of shooting; unless the air circulation system has improved since then I'd rather not go there. Besides, Ben Avery range - where most local schools seem to go to - is just as easy for me to get to and the ranges are nice.

Natava · July 9, 2002, 06:11 PM

Arizona had two awesome Training centers listed in the NRA magazine, before the magazine changed to "America's 1st Freedom". I looked them up on the web. They each had permit courses & advanced courses. I'll try to find my magazines.
Here's some off the web:
http://huntingsociety.org/training.html

Here's a list from the web in AZ:
http://www.dps.state.az.us/ccw/orgs.htm

hansolo · July 10, 2002, 01:03 AM

Funny you should ask

I live in CA, but visit my father-in-law near Phoenix often. There is a fantastic place in Mesa(near phoenix)called Caswell's--they have an indoor range, rent/sell/repair handguns, sell Dillon reloading products, as well as featuring Concealed Carry and other self-defense/offense
classes. Caswell's offers Rangemaster: a dynamic training program they use to train civilians as well as LEO's -- superior to FATS. Very excellent gunsmith(former Navy Seal and good guy!). I can't say enough good things about this place! It's on the internet...very good selection of gun-related goodies as well as Kimber and other new/used handguns. I like the place so much I should work there! For frequent range users, there are inexpensive memberships that make shooting almost free. Nice way to get out of the Summer heat!

VictorLouis · July 11, 2002, 09:18 AM

That's where I took my CCW course. Not only was he thorough in instruction, he's an interesting speaker. I've not take any of his other classes, but they tend to follow the two-day format and are equally reasonable in cost.

An added bonus is a card good for 10% off of all purchases in his gunshop for your first 4yrs.

I've been back enough to have covered the cost of my course.

precious821 · March 6, 2009, 10:53 AM

This response is to an old post, but may be of help. I recvd. a CCW as well as a refresher course, I would recommend everyone in the area to check out kens profile at the Guns plus web site. The man has an impressive history & will "shoot ya straight" Located N.W. of Phx in Surprise AZ.

July 7, 2002, 10:09 PM	#1
GAC Member Join Date: June 9, 2002 Location: Phoenix area Posts: 16	Training in Phoenix, AZ at Guns Plus? Has anyone on this forum taken any pistol classes from Guns Plus out of Surprise? The gunstore is Guns Plus but the training (run by the store owner) is called Security Enforcement Training Academy. They sound pretty decent and have been around for at least a couple years. They offer several different pistol classes and I am considering taking one after I attend one of Glendale Community College's pistol courses this summer. If anyone has direct or indirect experience with their training what did you think? Was it worth your time and cost? Any other schools in the Valley you'd recommend? No, I'm not able to travel up to Gunsite right now.

July 8, 2002, 10:02 AM	#2
krept Senior Member Join Date: August 20, 2000 Location: AZ Posts: 1,363	Is that place the run by Ken Senft (or close to that name?) If so, I don't have much info on him but he is a really nice guy if you need help. Some other ideas, places to look... - Around 28th ave or so and Indian School is Arizona Sportsman that has an indoor range and I believe taught classes. Bad news is I think that (word has it) they closed their doors due to the palce being frequented by local gangbangers. I think they were bought out by the store next door... a tactical shop... Arizona Tactical? I think they might have even been the ones to teach the classes next door and may still be teaching. I corresponded with a manager over there and he was a nice guy. - Ben Avery... don't they have classes out there pretty frequently? If anyone has any other places or comments on the aforementioned ones, I'm all ears. I'm looking for a good place as well. How was GCCs class? I've heard nothing but good things about them as well. __________________ the tallest blade of grass is the first to greet the lawnmower blade

July 8, 2002, 10:07 AM	#3
shepsan Member Join Date: December 7, 2001 Posts: 81	GunsPlus offers excellent courses I took a CCF course from Ken Senft of GunsPlus last year. It was well worth my time and money. Ken is an excellent instructor and presented a clear and well defined curricula. I appreciated the fact that he took the time to fully answer our questions without demeaning or humiliating those of us who knew nothing about firearms. The course was quite detailed in content. We leaned about safety, general gun handling and received a good foundation on Arizona and federal gun laws. The time we spent at the Ben Avery Shooting Facility target range was well supervised. We received general class and individual shooting instruction. I have no hesitation in recommending the GunsPlus CCW course. GunsPlus also offers a number of other hands-on courses. All are moderately priced. __________________ “The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government”.

July 8, 2002, 08:45 PM	#4
GAC Member Join Date: June 9, 2002 Location: Phoenix area Posts: 16	Well, it sounds okay then. Yes, it's run by Ken Seft. I am taking the Firearms 2 course at Glendale this month. I attended the CCW class there a couple weeks ago and it was not bad. The instructor for the CCW class is the range master for the Sheriff's Department and is very knowledgable and a big gun collector. He even gave me a box of Hornady hollow points for my Makarov. The Firearms 2 course will be taught by a different instructor, but I've met him before and he seemed pretty sharp and knowledgable as well. Krept, the range you are thinking of is Shooters' World and owned by the Arizona Sportsman chain. The instructor of my CCW class used to teach classes there a few years ago and the place has since changed hands a few times. One thing he mentioned was that the air can get fairly polluted after a lot of shooting; unless the air circulation system has improved since then I'd rather not go there. Besides, Ben Avery range - where most local schools seem to go to - is just as easy for me to get to and the ranges are nice.

July 9, 2002, 06:11 PM	#5
Natava Member Join Date: July 8, 2000 Location: Florida, USA Posts: 30	Arizona had two awesome Training centers listed in the NRA magazine, before the magazine changed to "America's 1st Freedom". I looked them up on the web. They each had permit courses & advanced courses. I'll try to find my magazines. Here's some off the web: http://huntingsociety.org/training.html Here's a list from the web in AZ: http://www.dps.state.az.us/ccw/orgs.htm __________________ natava Women Armed for Self-Defense http://members.tripod.com/womenarmedfordefense/ Fav Quote: "Dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance . . . just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies, that they may take our lives, but they'll never take, our FREEDOM!"

July 10, 2002, 01:03 AM	#6
hansolo Senior Member Join Date: June 30, 2002 Location: Desert Hot Springs, CA Posts: 503	Funny you should ask I live in CA, but visit my father-in-law near Phoenix often. There is a fantastic place in Mesa(near phoenix)called Caswell's--they have an indoor range, rent/sell/repair handguns, sell Dillon reloading products, as well as featuring Concealed Carry and other self-defense/offense classes. Caswell's offers Rangemaster: a dynamic training program they use to train civilians as well as LEO's -- superior to FATS. Very excellent gunsmith(former Navy Seal and good guy!). I can't say enough good things about this place! It's on the internet...very good selection of gun-related goodies as well as Kimber and other new/used handguns. I like the place so much I should work there! For frequent range users, there are inexpensive memberships that make shooting almost free. Nice way to get out of the Summer heat! __________________ PROUD TFL ALUMNUS MOLON LABE!

July 11, 2002, 09:18 AM	#7
VictorLouis Senior Member Join Date: January 12, 2000 Location: Arizona Posts: 2,302	I can also recommend Ken Senft. That's where I took my CCW course. Not only was he thorough in instruction, he's an interesting speaker. I've not take any of his other classes, but they tend to follow the two-day format and are equally reasonable in cost. An added bonus is a card good for 10% off of all purchases in his gunshop for your first 4yrs. I've been back enough to have covered the cost of my course.

March 6, 2009, 10:53 AM	#8
precious821 Junior Member Join Date: March 6, 2009 Posts: 1	Guns plus This response is to an old post, but may be of help. I recvd. a CCW as well as a refresher course, I would recommend everyone in the area to check out kens profile at the Guns plus web site. The man has an impressive history & will "shoot ya straight" Located N.W. of Phx in Surprise AZ.