PAL and RPAL course ontario recommendations?
- Thread starter davergaver
- Start date
I can't see that it matters where the course is held. As long as he has enough space for whatever number of students he takes per class. I took the "old" version of the Hunter Safety Course, back around 1980, in the basement of the instructor's house and it was just fine - no problms.
Good stuff. Gerhard and his wife are great instructors with LOTS of patience. There was a guy in my class that just could not get into his head to keep his finger off the trigger. If I was an instructor, the amount of times and warnings given to that guy, I would probably have lost my temper LONG LONG LONG time ago. Good thing I'm not an instructor, I would suck. lol
Stay away from the courses at Georgian College at the Barrie campus. Tried for 3 weeks to get something booked as I need both the PAL and PAL/R. Called them this last Monday, when all the students where returning from break, and asked if the class was still open. Got the line "if it's still open on our website, then it's still accepting sturdents." Went in immediately, stood around for half an hour, get to the admissions desk only to find out after about 15 minutes of frustration on the part of the admissions clerk that the course instructor cancelled it prior to the holidays and never updated the system or let admissions know.
Called Barb at the Barrie Gun Club and was able to pay for both courses on the weekend of January 26-27 and already am reading my study material cover to cover. They do it out of a business located off of Bryne Dr (Commerce Park Dr) that is conveniently located near the 400. Dino is welll respected in the local shooting world and seemed to be a wealth of knowledge. I dropped by their home to pay and pick up my materials and they were good people.
Called Barb at the Barrie Gun Club and was able to pay for both courses on the weekend of January 26-27 and already am reading my study material cover to cover. They do it out of a business located off of Bryne Dr (Commerce Park Dr) that is conveniently located near the 400. Dino is welll respected in the local shooting world and seemed to be a wealth of knowledge. I dropped by their home to pay and pick up my materials and they were good people.
Do not be worried at all. I took mine out of a local guys house, and all went well. Classroom sizes are generally smaller, so you get more hands on and individual help if needed, and I price-wise he was the cheapest around.
I eneded up signing up with Ready Aim Firearms Safety in Oakville.
The guy closer to me was the same price, but comunication was sparse.
I would wait for days to get answers to questions. I know how fast these classes fill up so after a little over a week of trying to get info from him, I signed up with Ready Aim. My classes are Feb 18/19.
The guy closer to me was the same price, but comunication was sparse.
I would wait for days to get answers to questions. I know how fast these classes fill up so after a little over a week of trying to get info from him, I signed up with Ready Aim. My classes are Feb 18/19.
I second Dino from the Barrie Gun Club -- not only was it the cheapest that I could find, but they provided a very delicious free lunch, and Dino is a very nice guy -- and informative. I did Hunter Ed there too.
I just did the PAL/RPAL weekend with York Region Firearms. Richard and Luis were great. They know their stuff and are very professional. They don't pull punches. You won't waste time covering stuff you don't really need to know, but they will make sure that you are absolutely comfortable with the critical stuff. I was impressed that they made themselves available outside of the "normal" classroom hours for students who wanted to come in early/stay late to practice handling firearms. I had very limited experience prior to the course but definitely felt a lot more comfortable by the end.
In Ontario the maximum instructor/student ratio is 10:1, unless the instructor adds extra hours to the course for more gun handling. When I run courses out of my home, it's a more intimate setting as the class is limited to ten students. In recent years I usually teach classes of 20 with the help of another instructor in rented facilities. In the smaller classes the instructor will probably remember your name, in the larger classes, probably not. The content of my courses is the same whether it's at home or in a rented facility. I hear stories of some courses being held in good commercial settings, but they're the firearms training equivalent of a puppy mill. For the CFSC in Ontario the FSESO policy is for 10 hours of instruction - which should give every student time to handle each firearm action type about six times. You want instructors who are actually going to supervise the gun handling to make sure you're doing everything properly - not read the paper while a gaggle of students fends for themselves. In Ontario, if the instructor is listed on the FSESO website, he's certified for sure. Anyone claiming to be an instructor who isn't on the list should be able to produce their current FSESO identification (it's policy to have it in the class).
Hi,
I'm looking to take the CFSC on a Sunday (or the combined CFSC and CRFSC in 2 consecutive Sundays) somewhere in the GTA, but everywhere I've found so far does it on Saturdays or during weekdays, and only the CRFSC is offered on Sundays.
I have contacted an instructor who said he'd do the course for us if we have a group of at least 6 people, but so far I've just got 1 friend on board.
Does anybody have any lead or wishes to join our group?
Thanks,
I'm looking to take the CFSC on a Sunday (or the combined CFSC and CRFSC in 2 consecutive Sundays) somewhere in the GTA, but everywhere I've found so far does it on Saturdays or during weekdays, and only the CRFSC is offered on Sundays.
I have contacted an instructor who said he'd do the course for us if we have a group of at least 6 people, but so far I've just got 1 friend on board.
Does anybody have any lead or wishes to join our group?
Thanks,
