Full Shaw Shooting Reviews
“For the past 27 years of my life I have carried a gun for a living. In the United States Marine Corps and for over twenty years with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office. I have been fortunate enough to train in schools all over the world and more often in the United States. None of the courses has ever come close to the complete environment I have experienced during my two training cycles at Shaw Shooting.
First off, Shaw Shooting does not advertise on social media or any avenue of advertisement to broadcast what they are about. They firmly believe in a If you need to know about us, you know mentality. I was told by some of my teammates from SWAT who have attended the school. That I needed to attend one of their courses. I scheduled a five-day pistol/carbine course and attended a few months later. Around a year after that class I attended a second five-day pistol/carbine course. I will attend another. Both experiences were the same and the curriculum is set to build and grow the shooter at any level in every class. Both experiences were very similar.
I drove to the property the night before class on both visits. They have plenty of lodging available. They have a guest house (Rock House), a bunkhouse (Hooch), and schedule local bed and breakfast places nearby to support the needs of the students who attend their classes. I was impressed both trips and there was always attention paid to all the student’s needs.
Shaw Shooting delivers a very professional and friendly atmosphere. The first morning of class always starts in the pro shop. There you meet the lead and assistant instructors and safety brief ensuring that safety rules and procedures are understood. These are the utmost of humble instructors I have met yet. Not once during either class was humility or safety ever an issue. From there you go to the paper bay and shoot an assessment drill. The instructors cater to the level the shooter’s needs. My first trip Houston was the lead instructor, second trip was Alex was the lead instructor. There are always multiple instructors on the line with the lead instructor guiding the curriculum and pace of the class.
Curriculum is taught and divided into domains where each lesson learned builds off the previous point taught to the students. As the points of curriculum build off one another and each point is taught, students transition to a steel bay and apply what is being taught to them. Having 16 acres of steel bays on pneumatic reset means you get a lot of trigger time to apply what is being taught. Their schedule of curriculum aided by the steel plate ranges to enforce the fundamentals being taught is unmatched in the industry.
Shaw shooting has steel bays and courses of fire to allow the application of their lessons. Steel ranges are set up to apply the lessons and concepts in real-world applications as it applies to fighting with a gun.
We all know curriculum is conducted to either teach a lesson or test the student’s level of knowledge retention. There is no lack of curriculum or testing at Shaw Shooting. They are excellent at both concepts and are constantly evaluating the student and catering to their learning development needs (from beginner to expert level shooters).
Overall I wholeheartedly recommend Shaw Shooting to anyone at any level of skill. I wish I had this type of instruction and facility years ago. From start to finish it has vastly improved my shooting skills. I have modeled some of the courses I instruct after the example that Shaw Shooting has provided me. They are all about providing the best product possible to give peacekeepers as many tools as possible in the toolbox. It is an enjoyable learning environment that teaches skills and tests proficiency at every stage of the class. Shaw Shooting produces a product (shooter) better than I could have ever expected. All I can say is if you carry a gun for a living in any theater, you’re doing yourself a disservice by not attending classes at Shaw Shooting.”
“Summary:
I attended a 5-day pistol and rifle course at the Shaw Shooting facility in Hagerman Idaho in the fall of 2019. I have attended training from other competitive shooters and military professionals across the globe. The curriculum developed by the Shaw family is top notch. They not only show you how to use your body and weapon to shoot fast and accurate but supply you with the, “Why”. They educate you on “Why” a certain technique works and how to get the most out of it for your body / hand type. The instructors taught the lessons on the range immediately followed up with live fire practical application. The Shaw curriculum has made my edge sharper than ever. The Shaw curriculum is focused on mechanics of the body / weapon interface and not “gamer” competition tricks.
Time management was professional. We started on time and ran all day long. There was no late start and early quitting, you put in an honest days work at Shaw Shooting. We were given ample time for lunch and breaks if needed.
Staff:
We shot with Alex for the week and with Houston for one afternoon. Alex is a local Police Officer, a competitive shooter, and a USMC combat veteran. Alex was able to tie in his experience in the three arenas to keep the training relevant to us. Alex was not pushy but did not settle for less than our maximum effort and kept us accountable for our shots. No scores were given, they were earned! Alex reinforced the lessons as we loaded magazines before moving on the next discipline.
Houston, while we only shot with him for an afternoon, was full of tips and honed our shots on the Traffic Jam / Rifle Mover Range. Houston was in our ears the entire time on the range reminding us of the lessons and when to apply them. Houston was not the loudmouth range guy, but a mentor trying to get the best performance out of us.
Ranges:
The Shaw Shooting Facility is the best range complex I have ever used. The steel bays are set up to reinforce the lessons learned on the paper bays. There was no paper target mess or trash blowing around. The ranges were cleaned, the trash taken out and the steel painted daily. I’ll just cover a couple of them here.
I cannot say enough about the rifle mover bay and its practicality to todays Law Enforcement Officer. The range mimics a traffic jam with over 200° of engagements, numerous reactive steel targets, and 4 moving steel targets. There are foreground and identification issues the shooter has to work out on the fly. We could have shot on that range all day.
The “Green Monster” and “Corridor” force the shooter to get physical and creative with positions while chasing the clock and your partners. They reinforce throttle control and the do’s and don’ts of artificial support. On the same range there is another course of fire, “Rifle Car Façade”, that makes the shooter maneuver around vehicles to get their shots. All of the ranges are well laid out and well maintained.
Safety:
The Shaw Shooting facility is not a fly by the seat of your pants operation. The range complex layout was calculated and efficient. Shooters receive a safety brief and the instructors are trained and equipped to treat injuries. All rifle steel is shot with frangible ammunition to prevent ricochets and the steel is well maintained for the rounds trajectory after impact to be predictable.
Everyone is given a copy of the medevac procedures so there are no questions in the event of an emergency. Each student is required to have a tourniquet on their gear for the duration of the class. If you do not have one they can be purchased on site.
For the duration of the 5-day course I attended there were no safety concerns with any of the range layouts or participants. Some of the courses of fire were physically challenging but not unsafe.
Lodging / Amenities:
For those staying on site the lodging was fine. We stayed in the “Rock House.” The Rock House is a small 2-bedroom one-bathroom house with a kitchenette and laundry facilities. It sleeps 4 with two bunk beds in each room.
There is Wi-Fi in each of the buildings. I did not stay in the bunkhouse but it houses more people than the Rock House.
The Club House has a full kitchen, big screen TV and lounging area for debriefs or decompression.
The Pro Shop has everything you might need if your gear is not up to the job. The instructors were not pushing gear on us but helped us install the few items we did purchase.
My agency has already budgeted to send the entire firearms staff next year. The Shaw Shooting School will take your performance to the next level. ”
“On behalf of the Idaho State Police, and the District 4 office, I would like to express my sincerest appreciation for your contribution to the enhancement of the safety and skillset of law enforcement.
It is not lost on ISP that you own and operate a world-class training facility and that you contribute your time, talent, and equipment, to help officers develop better skills, and become better marksmen.
The instruction is some of the best I’ve received, and the training range is second to none. Without your support, many officers would not have the opportunity to experience firearms training at the elite level. Your instruction saves lives.
Thank you for caring about our officers, and for allowing us to train with you.”
District Commander - Idaho State Police
ISP District 4, Jerome