Minnesota Permit to Carry Class

Our Defensive Shooting Fundamentals course builds a strong foundation in safe, confident handgun handling and practical shooting skills. Day One focuses on the fundamentals, including safe gun handling, handgun operation, loading and unloading, grip, stance, sight alignment, trigger control, and other essential skills every handgun owner should understand and practice. We also introduce basic defensive skills such as presenting from the holster and malfunction clearance techniques.

Students who want to take their skills further can continue with an optional second day of training during the summer. Day Two expands on those fundamentals with additional shooting and defensive handgun skills, emphasizing greater speed, accuracy, efficiency, and practical application.

Whether you're a newer shooter looking to develop solid gun-handling skills or an experienced shooter wanting to strengthen and expand your abilities, you can choose the level of training that best fits your goals.

Foundational Skills

• Learn firearm safety rules for responsible handling.
• Learn proper administrative handling of handguns, including loading and unloading.
• Understand that administrative gun-handling skills are intentional actions performed in a controlled, low-stress environment, relying on deliberate decision-making.

Marksmanship Fundamentals

• Develop a proper grip for control and recoil management.
• Master effective shooting stance.
• Learn sight alignment and sight picture to ensure accurate aiming.
• Improve trigger control to reduce anticipation and improve precision.
• Build consistency through structured dry-fire and live-fire drills.

Defensive Skills

• Safely and efficiently draw from a holster under various conditions.
• Execute tactical and emergency reloads when under pressure.
• Practice malfunction clearance drills.
• Engage multiple targets with prioritization and rapid response strategies.
• Understand that reactive gun-handling skills are performed in response to an immediate stimulus, often under high stress. These actions require rapid decision-making, practiced motor skills, and the ability to execute under time pressure or adverse conditions. Unlike administrative tasks, they must be ingrained through repetition so they can be performed reflexively without conscious thought.

Balance of Speed & Precision

• Understand the relationship between distance, time, and target size in defensive shooting.
• Practice drills to improve the balance of speed and precision under varying conditions.
• Learn techniques to adjust your pace and accuracy.
• Recognize how stress and adrenaline can impact defensive accuracy and mitigate these effects.

Threat assessment and response

• Build situational awareness to identify and avoid potential threats.
• Learn to assess threats using the OODA loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act).
• Develop critical decision-making skills for engaging or disengaging in a confrontation.
• Practice verbal commands to de-escalate situations or establish control.

During the course, students will be introduced to a variety of skills and drills. They will be taught using the EDIP learning model. EDIP is a structured approach to skill development that ensures effective learning. This method builds competence step by step, reinforcing both understanding and execution.

1. Explain: The instructor provides a clear and concise explanation of the concept or skill, outlining its purpose and importance.

2. Demonstrate: The instructor visually or physically demonstrates the correct way to perform the skill, ensuring students see an accurate example.

3. Imitate: Students practice the skill by copying the instructor’s demonstration, receiving guidance and corrections as needed.

4. Practice: Students continue practicing independently or in a structured environment until they achieve proficiency and confidence in the skill.

This course is open to students at any skill level. We begin with the fundamentals of safe gun handling and basic shooting, which will be new for some and a refresher for others. From there the training moves into material that many shooters have not encountered before. Safety remains the priority throughout.

We keep class sizes small to provide personalized instruction and continuous skill assessment. This allows each student to receive individual attention, immediate feedback during shooting drills, and plenty of hands-on practice. Our goal is to help every student improve their shooting skills, develop confidence, and become a safer, more capable shooter.

Summer Classes: Summer classes begin with a classroom session at the Minnesota Gun Class classroom in Willmar, with most of the training taking place at the Eagle Lake Rifle & Pistol Club outdoor range. Students will fire approximately 250 rounds per day. If you don't have your own handgun or equipment, rental packages are available that include a handgun, holster, magazine carrier, ammunition, and protective equipment.

The Saturday-only course is $125, while the two-day Saturday and Sunday course is $250. The optional second day builds on Saturday's fundamentals with additional drills and more advanced defensive shooting techniques.

Winter Classes: Our one-day winter course is held entirely at our private indoor range, providing a comfortable, controlled training environment regardless of the weather. You may bring your own 9mm semi-automatic pistol or use one of ours at no additional charge. All 9mm lead-free ammunition needed for the class is included in the $125 course fee.