1. Front Sight uses the same psychological methods as a cult does. They sell you a training "certificate" that allows you to have access to all their courses. They price this certificate ridiculously high, just like their courses. This makes you buy in emotionally when you buy the certificate. Since they artificially inflate their individual course prices, you feel like you got a deal when you buy their certificate. People naturally don't want to admit that they made a poor choice and spent a large sum of money unwisely, so they defend their purchase by hyping how awesome every course at Front Sight is and how good of a deal it it. The owners of a certificate have a limited amount of other certificates that they can sell to their friends for a "really good deal" through Front Sight. Thus it becomes kinda like a multi level marketing thing with a cult psych feel to it. "But the training is awesome" people will say.
2. The training is not awesome. It may be awesome if you have never had any professional training before. Ever notice how those folks who rave about Front Sight have almost always had no other professional weapons training. They don't give any credentials of their instructors other than that they have passed Front Sight's highest standards. This is largely because no professional who is worth a damn wants to be associated with that place in any way. So instead of being able to recruit former SOF and competitive shooting champs they end up with guys who like shooting but who are not professionals and then build them up in house.
3. Their training is WAY overpriced. Compare these 2 courses.
Front Sight course with mediocre instructors, 2 day, and canned instruction. "If you are missing, you aren't focusing on your front sight." Never mind that many of your students are shooting high and that is precisely because they are trying so hard to focus on the front sight. It is also why many of them can't shoot truly fast. Anyway, course costs $1000
3 day course, small group, individually tailored instruction, with Rob Leatham and Larry Vickers, 2 of the best pistol shooters in the world. $800 dollars and if you are missing the target they will individually assess you in depth instead of giving you canned advice. Rob's favorite answer is "It depends".
If you don't want to compare it to the Vickers/Leatham course, compare it to those run by Pat McNamara (CAG), Bennie Cooley (world champion shooter), Kyle Lamb (CAG), Max Michel (World record holder/champion pistol shooter), etc., and you will find that almost all of them are similarly, or often cheaper priced for better instruction.
4. Front Sight is incredibly douchy. Douchy in the same way a prep school kid who has never done anything and consequently feels the need to dick measure with you all the time. Do you know what the greatest pistol shooter in the world wants folks to call him when you go to his class? Rob. Do you know what the founder of Front Sight wants you to call him? Dr. Piazza. They market this arrogance as confidence to their unsuspecting and often innocently ignorant customer. Let us look at their website.
"
After your first firearm training course at Front Sight you will leave with skills that surpass 99% of the gun-owning population! This is no exaggeration. Once you've completed your first Front Sight course you'll discover that you've become THE self defense training expert among your peers and you will know you are better prepared than 99% of all gun owners in America."
They also display this douchy-ness in their instructor qualifications. Let us again look at their website. "Front Sight Firearms Training Institute boasts the finest instructional staff in the industry. That's because to become part of Front Sight's elite instructional staff, an instructor must first successfully complete our four day, Instructor Development Program to the exacting and professional standards set by my example and supervised by our cadre of certified Range Masters. This is not an easy task. The criteria for graduation from Front Sight's Instructor Development Course are so far above the industry standard, that fewer than one out of ten participants make the grade in their first attempt." and "We require of our staff a mainstream, professional personal appearance. Tattoos which are visible while in uniform or a radical hairstyle will exclude you from consideration."
Now this is incredibly stupid. First of all, if your instructors had any real qualifications, you would rely and advertise those instead of making up a bunch of BS quals. But since no professional wants to be associated with Front Sight, they have to take average Joe's and find a way to give them cool sounding credentials. As far as the appearance thing goes, yeah you probably don't want the emo chick with purple hair teaching, but most of the people who have experience using handguns for real in modern America are your SOF veterans. Most of these guys have tattoos. Therefore, Front Sight has once again done its best to run off some of the most qualified instructors.
On their website they have their founder listed as:
Dr. Ignatius Piazza, Founder and Director,
Four Weapons
Combat Master
WTF is a combat master? Per the website, that is a "qualification" that the head wanna be there made up. I highly doubt that asshole has ever been in combat, let alone mastered it. He also has a bunch of attempted cool guy pics of himself on the website with different weapons. In reality all he has achieved in these pictures is to look like a 80's porn star who is fucking around with guns.
To summarize, Front Sight has mediocre instructors, high prices, incredible arrogance and douchyness, poor training methodology, and a cult like mentality that they foster because they don't have the experience and creds in the shooting world to be able to mount and sustain an effective and professional marketing campaign.
It is a rip off and a waste of your money. Now let the butt hurt whining by those who have been scammed into becoming part of the Front Sight cult commence.
. But I've heard about it happening. Just saying.
