• You’ve never shot a handgun in your life.
• It’s been a really long time since you’ve shot one.
• You’re interested in the experience of shooting  a handgun but don’t necessarily want to own one.
• You want to take the TN Handgun Permit class but you’d like a class to prepare you for it and to check if you even want to go through with it.

If any of the above statements apply, our How To Shoot A Handgun class is for you.

How To Shoot A Handgun is a 5 hour class that will turn your fear into fun and your concerns into confidence. Topics include:

• The rules of safe gun handling and how to apply them
• Safe loading, unloading and storage of handguns
• Shooting fundamentals
• How to handle and operate a handgun in a comfortable and robust manner

Course Requirements:

• An open mind
• A positive attitude
• We’ll provide the gun and all safety equipment free of charge, you just pay for the ammo (bring your own gun if you have one but please don’t buy one for the class)

The Tennessee Enhanced Handgun Carry Permit Class is very basic. Its purpose is to teach Tennessee handgun laws and ways to safely load, unload, and store a handgun. It wasn’t created to teach you how to carry a handgun in public or use one to defend yourself from violent attack. Defending yourself with a handgun demands a level of skill. Developing the required skill takes more than one class, it is a process that involves time, instruction, and structured practice.

For those who want to gain confidence and competence with their handgun, we have the “After the Permit” series of courses, Gun Handling & Marksmanship and Drawing From a Holster. If you’ve completed the Enhanced TN Handgun Permit course but still don’t feel confident with your handgun, or you haven’t chosen a handgun yet, this class is for you.

Gun Handling & Marksmanship is a 4-hour course that continues where the TN Handgun Permit class ends. Topics include:

• A review of the rules of safe gun handling and how to apply them
• A review of the shooting fundamentals with an emphasis on defensive application
• Safe loading, unloading and storage of handguns
• How to handle and operate a handgun in a comfortable and robust manner
• How to select the right gear for training and carrying
• An introduction to defensive accuracy standards
• Proper “ready positions”
• How to practice to develop skill and proficiency

Completion of our Gun Handling & Marksmanship will prepare you for success in our Drawing From a Holster class where we teach students how to safely and efficiently access, draw and holster a handgun. Students who complete the coursework will receive a certificate as proof of their training.

Course Requirements:

• Reliable handgun (contact us if you need a recommendation, or to rent one) with at least two magazines
• 100 rounds of quality practice ammo
• Eye and ear protection

The Tennessee Enhanced Handgun Carry Permit Class is very basic. Its purpose is to teach Tennessee handgun laws and ways to safely load, unload, and store a handgun. It wasn’t created to teach you how to carry a handgun in public or use one to defend yourself from violent attack. Defending yourself with a handgun demands a level of skill. Developing the required skill takes more than one class. It is a process that involves time, instruction, and structured practice.

For those who want to gain confidence and competence with their handgun we have the “After the Permit” series of courses, Gun Handling & Marksmanship and Drawing From a Holster.

Drawing From a Holster is a 4-hour course that continues where the Gun Handling & Marksmanship class ends. Topics include:

• A review of the rules of safe gun handling
• A shooting fundamentals check
• The proper placement of a holster on your body
• How to properly access and draw a pistol from a holster
• How to safely holster a pistol
• Effective use of ready positions
• Continued application of defensive accuracy standards
• How to practice to develop skill and proficiency

Drawing From a Holster will prepare you for success in Concealed Carry Clinic, where we revisit all the isolated technical skills from previous classes and introduce real-world contextual applications and environmental factors (adapting to one’s surroundings). Students who complete the coursework will receive a certificate as proof of their training.

Course Requirements:

• Successful completion of Gun Handling & Marksmanship or equivalent course/experience
• Reliable defensive handgun
• Quality holster designed for the model handgun you have
• Belt designed to support a handgun
• 100 rounds of quality practice ammo
• Eye and ear protection

If you need equipment recommendations for this class, please contact us.

So, you’ve got your carry permit, and you’ve taken Gun Handling & Marksmanship and Drawing From a Holster. What’s next? Now you’re ready for Concealed Carry Clinic! The goal of our Concealed Carry Clinic is to teach the basic knowledge, skills, and attitude to carry a handgun daily for personal protection and self-defense. Building on what you’ve learned in the above classes, Concealed Carry will help you gain confidence, and figure out what works best for you in adopting the concealed carry lifestyle.

Topics covered in Concealed Carry include:

• Review of safe firearms handling and how they apply to concealed carry
• Mental awareness and techniques for avoiding life-threatening confrontations
• Developing a defensive mindset for carrying and using a pistol for personal protection
• Selecting a pistol for self-defense
• Concealing a handgun properly and clothing considerations
• Accessing a handgun from concealment and safely concealing it again
• Basic defensive pistol skills
• Using your pistol sights and trigger for effective results up close and at distance
• Loading the pistol and fixing it if it malfunctions during an attack

Concealed Carry Clinic is offered in two formats: one 8-hour day, or two separate 4-hour sessions (Part 1 and Part 2). Students who complete the full eight hours of coursework will receive a certificate as proof of their training. Our Concealed Carry course meets or exceeds the learning objectives of the NRA Basic CCW course.

Ok, you’ve got your permit, and you’ve taken Gun Handling & Marksmanship, Drawing From a Holster, and Concealed Carry Clinic. What’s next?

Now you’re ready for Protective Pistol, where we take all the skills developed in previous classes and put them in context. The goal of Protective Pistol is to show average, everyday citizens how to apply their handgun carry fundamentals in real world situations.

Topics covered in Defensive Pistol include:

• Review of safe firearms handling and how they apply to self-defense
• Mental preparation for armed confrontation
• Psychological and physiological changes you may experience during an attack and how to deal with them
• Target selection and anatomical factors in shot placement
• Quick, efficient and robust presentation of a pistol during an attack
• Shooting quickly and accurately while under duress
• Fixing the pistol if it malfunctions during an attack
• Reloading the pistol rapidly under stress

Protective Pistol is offered in two formats: one 8-hour day, or two separate 4-hour sessions (Part 1 and Part 2). Students who complete the full eight hours of coursework will receive a certificate as proof of their training.

Pro-Social Pistol Skills is an intensive two-day course that covers the essential skills needed to successfully defend against a deadly criminal attack, within the rule of law. This course is designed expressly for the armed citizen who carries a concealed handgun, or the plain clothes or off-duty police officer. The goal is to develop the knowledge, skills, and mindset necessary to dominate and end an inescapable deadly assault, and then successfully defend those actions in court.

Topics include:

• Mental awareness and techniques for gaining advantage in life-threatening confrontations
• Proper defensive mindset and personal tactics
• Concealing a pistol properly and clothing considerations
• Effective gun handling techniques designed to work under stress
• Rapid presentation from concealed carry during an attack (and safely concealing it)
• High speed accuracy at close ranges and precision shooting at mid ranges
• Rapidly and reliably fixing pistol malfunctions and reloading techniques
• Shooting effectively with one hand
• Shooting effectively with a cognitive load
• Tactical anatomy
• Proper skill development practices

Class prerequisites: Completion of a state handgun carry permit class or other comparative pistol shooting class. You should also have some experience safely handling, drawing and holstering a pistol. If you have questions about your suitability of the course, please email us at info@CitizensSafety.com or text us at 615-801-8007.

Students who complete the course will receive a completion certificate.

This is an intensive course learning intermediate skills to successfully defend yourself with a pistol.

This class is intended for true intermediate (or higher) level students. If you have not had formal training in how to work from a holster safely, this coursework may not be safe for you yet.

Topics covered in this course will include:

• Engaging targets at very close ranges
• Shooting with higher decisional and anatomical marksmanship standards
• Drawing and shooting one handed
• Engaging animated threats
• Shooting with a cognitive load
• Understanding and using cover
• Engaging targets beyond “normal” pistol ranges
• Effective movement and shooting
• Effective use of cover
• Drills and practice regimens to take home and continue skill development

Parking Lot Pistol is offered in both one and two day formats. Students who complete the coursework will receive a certificate as proof of their training.