I recently completed the Advanced Tactical Pistol I course at TDSA Tulsa and could not be more satisfied. I have been shooting handguns, rifles and shotguns for many years and competing for about the last six. I thought I knew the basics pretty well and often placed near the top in some of our club events. I am an NRA instructor for rifle and shotgun and a Range Safety Officer. I took this course on the advice of a friend who is a very active and successful IDPA competitor. My friend also went through the course again as well to sharpen up his considerable skills. My accuracy, smoothness and speed all improved dramatically, but most importantly I now have some solid techniques to practice that will help me keep my skills honed.

Marshall Luton has an excellent team. The instructors are highly skilled and also highly approachable without the huge ego that might be expected from their very impressive backgrounds. The material was presented in a very professional manner yet the overall tone still remained relaxed and sometimes humorous. The team clearly maintains a good balance between giving great instruction and making sure the students stay connected and interact. When a technique is presented, you are given clear reasons behind the technique and immediate exercises by both instructors and all the students to validate it.

The instruction was always positive rather than critical and we had immediate exercises with close supervision to ensure that we had understood the material and were not just practicing errors. At the same time, if you had a technique that was working well for you, the instructors would ask you to try their method, then try your method and see which one seemed to produce the best results. The emphasis was always on smooth, accurate shooting, rather than throwing out whatever you knew and adopting their “method.”

Another benefit is that Marshall is a lefty like me. It is very helpful to have someone who actually shoots left-handed and has worked out the best techniques for mag changes and the like teaching you.

The team runs a very safe range. We shot a lot and ran through many exercises with weapons loaded and sometimes unloaded and there was always extraordinary care spent on ensuring that it was all done in a manner that was safe for everyone.

Did I mention that I had a heck of a good time. Yes, I learned a lot and feel it was money and time very well spent, but I also had very enjoyable experience as well. By Sunday afternoon I was ready to keep running exercises and drills until midnight because I was having a blast, and could see the results on the paper and hear it on the steel.

Our class was about evenly divided between law enforcement and civilian, though there was never any distinction made as to who was who. If you are a civilian shooter, you are not going to get an opportunity to get this level of training expertise from many places – and especially not at this price. I would not hesitate to recommend Marshall and his team to anyone who wants to become a better shooter and I will definitely be back for more.