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Even if you do not own a gun, have no experience with guns or are afraid of guns, this class is perfect for you. No gun ownership or prior experience or knowledge is required. This course is designed for beginners to dispel any fear of handguns and to become skilled and confident at safely handling and firing a handgun.
All courses are conducted in our private classroom and on our private firing range.
We will thoroughly and patiently cover the most basic elements of safety rules, how the gun works, loading and unloading, how to hold the gun, how to stand when shooting, aiming, breath control and trigger control. When you are completely comfortable with these items, we will move on to dry fire (empty gun) practice until you are totally comfortable with handling your gun. You will become very familiar with the handling and operation of the gun and will learn that it is just a mechanical tool like a wrench or a drill and that it cannot operate on its own.
Photo shows students practicing proper grip and stance in the classroom with unloaded guns
Our Self Defense Handgun Course is an 8 hour course including classroom and dry fire portion along with live fire on the firing range. The participant fee is $175 per person. If you would like to just come observe the class, the fee is $25. Classes can be scheduled any day of the week except Sundays. The class can be divided into segments and taught on different days if that is more convenient for the group. A carry permit (Georgia Weapons License) is good to have but is not required to take this course.
There are no more than 5 participants in the class so everyone receives plenty of personal attention and shooting time. Detailed instruction will be given on safe and confident gun handling and how to shoot accurately and quickly. The course has a strong emphasis on developing the mental preparedness, skills and ability necessary to effectively defend yourself and others in real world, practical situations you may encounter at any time whether in public, in your vehicle or at home.
We will discuss and demonstrate how to avoid the necessity of using your gun for self-defense by developing an attitude of situational awareness and how to keep yourself safe in a variety of specific, every day scenarios such as parking lots, gas stations, convenience stores and shopping malls. We will discuss and demonstrate how you should respond to personal attacks such as threats, attempted robberies, kidnapping, car-jacking, home invasions and terrorist or active shooter situations.
In this class, even experienced shooters will learn new techniques and greatly improve your draw stroke, speed of fire and front sight accuracy especially since we will be practicing self-defense combat shooting in real life scenarios involving moving while drawing and shooting at multiple targets. You will learn to use cover, position and distance to increase your safety and effectiveness. You will be able to draw from concealment and fire at least two accurate shots on target within two seconds. This skill is vital to survival in a close range attack.
We will also cover the legal and moral aspects of the use of deadly force, when it is justified and when it is not. There will be instruction on choosing the handgun, holster and carry situation that is comfortable for you. There will also be instruction and demonstration of empty hand defense skills, in case you need to grapple with an attacker in order to gain enough time or distance to draw and fire your gun. At the end of this course you will be prepared and confident with your skills and your equipment.
Our number one consideration during the course is safety. Upon arrival all guns are inspected to insure they are completely unloaded. No live ammunition is allowed in the classroom. We have five hours of classroom, unloaded gun handling and safety drills before we go the the live fire range.
On the firing range all guns are unloaded until the shooter is on the firing line. Participants waiting their turn to shoot stay 15 yards behind the shooter with their guns unloaded and laying on a table or holstered. I or my assistant stand within arms reach of the shooter so we can control the situation and maintain safety at all times. Only one shooter at a time shoots. Since we have a private firing range on our property no one else except our class participants will be present.
Our property and firing range are orderly and well maintained in accordance with our goal of safety for all visitors. I welcome you to come tour our property and firing range. I also offer private, one-on-one classes if you would be more comfortable in that setting.
Ed Dabney is a former law enforcement officer, graduate of the police academy, Director of Security at his church and Certified NRA Handgun Instructor. Ed was a licensed Outfitter and Hunting Guide in the Wyoming Rocky Mountains. He has been hunting and shooting all his life. Over the past 40 years he has taught many people how to safely handle and accurately shoot all types of firearms.
Once you have completed the basic course, we also offer an advanced course that is held on the firing range, no classroom portion. In the advanced course you will be shooting quite a bit. You will be working on speed with accuracy in a variety of realistic scenarios and positions using multiple targets and moving targets. You will be moving while shooting and using a variety of distances and types of cover. You will learn to shoot, reload and clear malfunctions with one hand only, left hand and right hand separately. This four hour course is offered for small groups for a fee of $175 per person.
For small groups or individuals, we offer training in the tactical use of the AR-15 rifle. There is no classroom portion in this course. No prior experience with an AR-15 is necessary. We will start with the basic fundamentals of the operation of the rifle and progress through intermediate drills. You do not need to own an AR-15. I can supply you with one for the course.
You will be shooting quite a bit, working on speed with accuracy in a variety of realistic scenarios and positions using multiple targets, reaction targets and moving targets. You will be moving while shooting as well as stationary shooting. You will be shooting from 25 to 100 yards and using different types of cover. You will learn to zero your weapon, clear a variety of malfunctions, reload with speed, change shoulders rapidly and fire your weapon from your non-dominate shoulder. This four hour course is offered for small groups for a fee of $150 per person.
We also offer individual, private training custom designed for the client for a fee of $75 per hour.
All courses are conducted on our private firing range.
"After taking this course, I now feel empowered!"
"This is the best training I've ever had. It's better than any training I had in the army."
"Thank you for a great experience. I feel more confident using a handgun."
"You're expertise and knowledge is so helpful and much appreciated."
"I just want to thank you for one of the most educational, informative and unforgettable days of my life. I will have new eyes as I view this world we live in."
"My son, who is an FBI agent, looked over the information about your course and strongly recommended I take the course."
"Your course is all very good information."
"Thanks for an incredible, enlightening day filled with fun, education and great company. Looking forward to increasing my awareness, confidence and accuracy on shooting."
"The experience was much better than I had expected. I have a better understanding of how to protect myself and others. The self defense and handgun education was valuable. Thank you for everything."
"I’ve taken self-defense classes before, also gun handling classes. None come close to the knowledge you imparted to us. This class was about 'where the rubber meets the road' "
"Just wanted to thank you for a challenging but amazing day. The class greatly exceeded my expectations. It was packed with information and hands on practice. I also appreciated your balance between challenging us to do better, holding us accountable and pointing out mistakes while giving us encouragement and pointing out improvement at the same time. I definitely will be back for the advanced class. "
"The knowledge and real life experience you gave us on how to handle potentially dangerous situations was invaluable. I definitely feel more confident and competent firing and handling guns now. I will continue my practice at home to retain all of the information you taught me. You are providing a wonderful service to our community by sharing this knowledge. "
"AMAZING self defense and gun safety course with NRA instructor Ed Dabney. I can’t say enough good things about this course. Ladies, if you are in GA take it. You will walk away feeling more empowered to protect yourself and your family. We learned how to handle and fire guns under an attack, self defense hand combat techniques, and how to stay safe and get out out of danger. It was just awesome!
A strong offense is the best defense!!! "
"There is NOTHING else like this course in our area! Ed goes above and beyond in the course content offered and is a highly proficient and knowledgeable instructor. He built an outdoor course to practice protecting yourself quickly and effectively in real life situations. Going to a shooting range can’t prepare you for this stuff. We learned how to defend ourselves with both hand combat and gun use in close proximity situations when seconds count."
"After an attempted abduction of my college-age granddaughter, I became acutely aware of how vulnerable were the women of my family. I had my wife, daughter, granddaughter and a daughter-in-law attend Mr. Dabney’s gun safety course. The pre-course communication insured all were properly prepared. As I audited the course I had a birds-eye view of the information quality, delivery and personal attention given to each participant in both the classroom and firing range. In addition to gun safety, the course included non-armed, hand-to-hand demonstration and practice of personal safety techniques. My ladies came away from the course with the understanding that with awareness, diligence and practice of what they learned; they will be 100 times more able to insure their personal safety. The post-course information that was provided was also excellent. I came away with the sense that this was more than just a business for Mr. Dabney; it is a part of his passion and mission in life. I highly recommend this course for both men and women. "
"I am SOOOO thankful Heath and I took Ed Dabney's self defense course on Saturday...I never thought 48 hours after taking that class I would have to use what he taught me...but in broad daylight at Publix in Winder at 1:00 in the afternoon I did. Emmy was with me, and as we pulled into the parking lot it struck me as strange that a man was walking from the store toward the parking lot with no groceries or bag. Just to be extra safe, I pulled into a spot and decided to wait with my doors locked until I saw that he was getting into his car and leaving. As luck had it, his car was two spots from mine, and instead of getting in, he got something out of his car and walked toward my driver's window. As soon as I saw him approaching me, I did what Ed taught me and yelled "Get back!" he continued to approach me asking me if I could tell him where a Sally's beauty supply was. In his hands he had a bottle of something. I again vehemently shook my head and yelled "Get back!" When he didn't, I immediately backed out and left with him yelling and cussing at me as I left. Ed's class is amazing, empowering and WELL worth taking. He's a former law enforcement officer and a certified NRA instructor. I would highly recommend it if you've ever thought about anything like that...I know it gave me the confidence to respond as I did today!! "
Dabney Defense
training@eddabney.com
770-314-9254