Handgun Training
With the explosion of gun sales in America, people are buying guns for protection and security, but with little or no idea how to use them for those purposes.
At Watchmen Training, we teach simple, easily applied principles for safe and tactical gun handling, which results in confidence when you need to use your gun.
Our main focus in all of our handgun training is to prepare you for that moment that we hope and pray never comes: when you may have to defend a life with your handgun.
Handgun Training covers everything from basic understanding of the function and purpose of the handgun to fundamental principles and skills, and on to more advanced training, refining those foundational skills to become a master of your handgun. We offer a series of ongoing training to bring you to that place where you are confident and competent.

level one handgun
Course Length: 2 days
Price: $160.00
Our Concealed Weapons Permit class gives you the necessary training to be a responsible gun owner and carrier. In the classroom portion, we cover home safety, basic weapon handling and marksmanship, and principles of concealed carry. Then we put it into practice on the range.
This is a two-day course that starts with a four to five-hour interactive classroom setting where we will present the how-to’s of safe and tactical handgun use.
Here are some questions this class will answer:
- What are the cardinal rules of handgun safety?
- How do I safely and tactically operate my handgun?
- What handgun functions are critical to know in order to defend myself or others?
- How do I know if I am in a deadly force situation?
- How and when do I use my handgun to defend myself or others?
- How does repetitive, technically perfect training affect my abilities with my handgun?
- What do I need to do after a deadly force encounter?
- What is the significance and/or importance of ongoing training?
- What are the rules for carrying a handgun in Idaho?
- What are the benefits of the Idaho Enhanced Concealed Weapons Permit?
The second part of this class is four to five hours on the range. In this portion of the class, we will conduct a safety brief and go over the rules of the range and then do dry practice, implementing the skills discussed in the classroom portion. After dry practice, we will conduct live-fire drills, focusing on learning and practicing the fundamental principles of tactical handgun manipulation.
level two handgun
Skill Level: Intermediate
Course Length: 2 days
Price: $160.00
Advanced classes are designed to be ongoing, increasing the student’s skills and abilities with each new level of training, depending on how far they wish to go in mastering their handgun equipment and skills.
The classroom sessions will start with a brief review, refreshing the principles covered in previous training. Then we will move forward, applying the basics to more complex decision-making under the stress and pressure of time and added complications.
The range training will incorporate the fundamentals while raising the bar on your skills through a variety of increasingly challenging handgun drills.
Here are some of the questions we answer throughout our advanced handgun courses:
- How important is regular practice of the principles of handgun operation?
- How do pressure and stress affect my ability to safely and tactically operate my handgun?
- How much time do I have to respond to a deadly force attack?
- What part does movement play when I am defending myself or others?
- How do I deal with more than one attacker?
- How do I shoot from different positions and angles?
- How does distance affect the use of a handgun for protection purposes?
red dot training &
handgun transition
Skill Level: Intermediate
Course Length: 2 day
Price: $160.00
This class is designed to assist in transitioning from traditional sight picture acquisition training to utilizing the red dot for sight acquisition with a handgun.
Adding a red dot to your handgun can provide benefits and assist with accuracy, but also will create training needs that must be addressed if the goal is to use the handgun for self protection purposes. This class walks the shooter through this transition process and explains the importance of setting up your equipment for success, not failure.
This is a two day class, including classroom instruction, demonstration and discussion, followed by a range day where we put it all into practice.
weapon retention
training
Skill Level: Intermediate
Course Length: 1 day
Price: $160.00
This class is designed to teach awareness when carrying concealed, understanding of action vs. reaction and the reactionary gap, basic principles of weapon retention if someone attempts to take my handgun, and also principles of weapon extraction in extreme cases where a gun has been pulled on me.
This is a physically challenging course that will require physical exertion and stamina.