Anyone familiar with Firearms Academy of Seattle?

[Pulpo]

I've had my CPL for a little over a year and I am interested in getting some formal training. I signed up for their free seminar (they fill up fast!) and I would like some input on how effective their courses are. I'm very excited, their courses are reasonably priced and I'll prabably take another course after I finish the seminar. I'm guessing that it's well worth the money, but I thought I'd find out what some of you guys think who have taken some of the courses.

[PaulBk]

Marty and Gila are GREAT. First class instructors, first class facilities, reasonable prices. You have chosen well.

-PB

[PressCheck]

Great place to train.

[pax]

Okay, I'll admit up front that if you're looking for an unbiased source about FAS (www.firearmsacademy.com), I may not be the person to talk to. At this moment, I'm a very frequent volunteer as an RO and assistant instructor, and am working through their instructor-development program. Marty and Gila are both good personal friends of mine, and Gila has been the best mentor to me a woman could ever hope for. But I'm not on their payroll, and it's not as if anyone has ever paid me to like them. ;)

You could get other opinions about them on either here or on THR (www.thehighroad.org) just by running a search with keyword "FAS" or "Firearms Academy." Pretty sure you won't find anything very negative, but it never hurts to look at what the archives say.

I took my first class at FAS a little over 6 months after I began shooting, about six years ago now. Here are some things I've written about their classes over the years.

About FAS-2:
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=573147&highlight=FAS2#post573147 This was the first class I took from them and my shooting improved immeasurably in just one weekend. It went from abysmal to merely bad, just like that! ;)

About FAS-4: http://www.thearmedcitizen.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2053

About FAS-4 the second time around:
http://www.thearmedcitizen.net/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3245 (Oh, before you read that thread -- yes, I did finally past the dang test. Honest...)

About FAS-5: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=31233

About Night Ops: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=135419

Classes I've taken but haven't really written about: Defensive shotgun. This one-day class was a lot of fun and a truly excellent value. Gila was the lead instructor when I took the course and Marty provided most of the demos.
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FAS-1. Since FAS has been giving away the free handgun safety seminars for the past couple of years, their entry-level class has necessarily seen some changes. It used to take two days, but has become a one-day class, primarily taught by Gila, because it builds upon the free safety seminars. Students attend the freebie on a Saturday, then come back for the paid "Concealed Carry 101" class on a Sunday. FAS 1 classes are generally small, so they are very much more personal than the much larger free seminars.

I've assisted at both the freebie classes and FAS-1 and consider both of them highly worthwhile for the beginning shooter, or for more experienced shooters who are just getting into concealed carry & surrounding issues; the classroom component gives you a really good overview of the legal situation if you ever need to shoot in self defense. Additionally, the freebie classes are a no-risk way to find out if the instructional style at FAS suits you before you plunk down any money.

Oh, in case you're wondering: they really-and-truly don't push to sell classes to people who come to the freebies. The philosophy is that the school will sell itself if they just do what they do and let people see how they do things there. Which is pretty cool, and seems to work just fine.
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FAS-3. I didn't post a review of FAS-3 when I took it, because much of the class is composed of scenarios, and in order to say anything useful about it, I'd have had to spoil the plots for readers intending to take the class. Suffice it to say that the class is one of the most enjoyable I've taken, though I did get killed a lot.
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Basic Rifle. Nick Bolton was the lead instructor for that one, and did an excellent job introducing the basics. Another one-day class. I didn't write about it online because I reviewed the class for Women & Guns (www.womenshooters.com) magazine instead.
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Handgun Retentions and Disarms. I don't know why I never wrote about this one; to my way of thinking, anyone who considers using a firearm for self-defense needs to know how to do a basic disarm and needs to know the basics of holding onto their own gun when attacked. At FAS, it's a one-day class, with one free retake included in the price of the class. Probably the best value on the schedule.


Oh, also, they've got a message board somewhere on their site. It's not terrifically active, but they do monitor it and are pretty good about answering questions asked there.

Hope all that helps. Let me know if you've got any other questions that I can overwhelm you with overly-detailed answers to. ;)

pax

[garrettwc]

(Oh, before you read that thread -- yes, I did finally past the dang test. Honest...)

You knew I was going to ask didn't you.:p

[Bobarino]

i've taken their safety seminar also and the are fantastic. they are not condesending to their students and you feel like they are your friends right away. i haven't had a chance to take any other courses from them yet but i will as soon as time allows. i'n my opinion, you can't do better in teh northwest.

Bobby

[LBTRS]

I have taken FAS-2, FAS-3, FAS-4 and FAS-5 at the Firearms Academy of Seattle. I have several classes scheduled in the future with them. I could not be more pleased with the training I've recieved at FAS. Marty and Gila are great people and I learned a ton in my instruction from Marty. I highly recommend FAS for your training needs. Here is my report from my last visit:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=153638

LBTRS