Portland, Oregon Firearms Training

This page is intended to be a directory of Portland, OR area firearms training schools. This list is by no means comprehensive. If you know of regular classes offered in the area that are not listed, please send mail to jrp@pun.org.

The primary interest students express to me is to qualify for the minimum training requirements for an Oregon Concealed Handgun License. ORS 166.291 (f) indicates a variety of ways to qualify, but the gist is that a qualified and certified instructor should teach you the basics of handgun safety. Many organizations on this list go beyond that minimum requirement to teach about techniques, the law, and the judicious use of force. I cannot recommend enough the need to learn, practice, and profess safe and useful handgun handling skills if you intend to obtain a CHL.

Douglas Ridge Rifle Club

Description

The Douglas Ridge Rifle Club (DRRC) is a 130 acre rifle, shotgun, and pistol range located halfway between Clackamas and Estacada on Highway 224, about 45 minutes from downtown.

P.O. Box 307
Boring, OR 97009
Membership: (503) 631-8160

Courses and competitions are open to non-members.

Facilities

DRRC features a twelve station indoor range for handguns and .22 caliber rifles, several long rifle ranges including a one thousand yard range, a shotgun trap house, and a two hundred meter silhouette range that is used for a variety of competitive handgun events.

Douglas Ridge has frequent scheduled matches in rifle, shotgun, and pistol, including regional and state competitions.

Courses

DRRC hosts frequent classes on hunter safety, the NRA basic courses, and other firearm subjects. DRRC is one of the few local ranges that hosts a NRA Range Safety Officer course, a two day lesson stressing the fundamentals of running a safe line at a range.

Instructors

Michael Jones hosts many of the courses at DRRC as he is their Chief Range Safety Officer. He is NRA-certified to instruct Basic Pistol, Personal Protection in the Home, Home Firearm Safety, Refuse To Be A Victim and Range Safety Officer. He is also an NRA Training Counselor and teaches instructor classes in the above areas (except RTBAV). Phone: (503) 654-7452. Email: jonesc@teleport.com

Both NWSAFE and PFTT (listed on this page) teach courses at Douglas Ridge.

Schedule

Classes are listed on the Douglas Ridge calendar.

Firearms Academy of Seattle

Description

The Firearms Academy of Seattle (FAS) has a tactical training range near Onalaska, WA, about ninety miles North of Portland.

P.O. Box 400
Onalaska, WA 98570
(360) 978-6100
Email: marty@firearmsacademy.com

Facilities

The range features outdoor bays for advanced handgun, rifle, and defensive shotgun training and competition, including 360-degree bays, “dark houses” for low-light training, steel plate ranges, and even a rifle marksmanship training tower.

Courses

FAS touts a full range of handgun, shotgun, and rifle training that lead up to some of the most advanced levels of shooting. The beginner and intermediate handgun courses are even available in a “women's only” format.

Instructors

Marty Hayes, the Director and President of FAS, is an instructor with over a decade of experience teaching the basics and advanced techniques. He is certified by the Washington Criminal Justice Commission, the National Law Enforcement Training Center, Lethal Force Institute, and Defense Training International. He is also an nationally recognized firearms competitor.

Tom Haeflinger is a senior staff instructor at FAS, another nationally recognized pistol competitor, with similar teaching certifications as Marty.

Gila Hayes is another staff instructor at FAS who leads the womens-only courses at FAS, has written the excellent book Effective Defense. She also edits and writes for Women and Guns magazine. Her certifications run another gamut of law enforcement training organizations, including Heckler & Koch's International Training Division.

FAS brings guest instructors in every year for special courses. Watch their web site for information.

Insights Training Center

Description

Insights Training Center has been teaching courses in the Pacific Northwest for over a decade. Unlike some organizations who train in only one area, they over courses all over the Pacific Northwest, often hosted by popular local ranges.

Locations

Insights is hosted in Portland by The Place to Shoot and the Public Safety Training Center, both listed in this document.

Courses

Insights has a slew of handgun, long gun, unarmed and close-quarters defense, tactics, and law enforcement specific courses available. They also have wilderness first aid and adventure training.

Instructors

The chief instructor for Insights is Greg Hamilton, who has also taught with the prestigious Gunsite Academy as well as the US Army. There is a great deal of information about all of the Insights instructors here.

NorthWest Safety and Firearms Education

Description

NWSAFE is an all-volunteer team of instructors giving basic instruction and short courses to novice shooters and adults looking for options and technique for self-protection. They maintain a web site here.

To register for courses, contact John McEnroe at 503-232-6918.

Facilities

NWSAFE has taught classes at Portland Rifle and Pistol Club, Douglas Ridge Rifle Club, Tri-County Gun Club, Johnson Creek Gun Club, and may branch out into other facilities as the need arises.

Courses

NWSAFE teaches all of the NRA courses on an as-needed basis, but regularly teaches Home Firearm Safety and FIRST Steps Pistol.

Schedule

NWSAFE maintains an online schedule.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife

Description

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) is a state organization dedciated to conservation activities and regulates hunting and fishing in Oregon.

ODFW has a series of courses called the Hunter Education Program.

Courses

The Hunter Education Class is a course required by law for hunters under the age of 18. The subjects taught include: Hunter ethics and respect for private landowners, wildlife management and identification, firearms handling and safety, hunt preparation and techniques, survival and an introduction to bowhunting. All students are required to participate in a live fire exercise. A class schedule can be found here.

The Oregon Master Hunter Program is a certification that might give hunters access to private land (with the landowners permission) where other hunters would not be allowed. In addition, there are “Master Only” hunts. The course emphasizes ethics, knowledge, and safety.

The Youth Shotgun Clinics are opportunities for youths to learn more about shotgun shooting and are an introduction to trap, skeet, sporting clays, and shotgun hunting.

Oregon Firearms Academy

Description

Oregon Firearms Academy, near Lebanon, OR, offers handgun, rifle, and shotgun courses.

P.O. Box 909
Lebanon, OR 97355
(541) 451-5532
Email: dan@oregonfirearmsacademy.com

Facilities

Their training facility was recently listed as a 4 star facility by the National Association of Shooting Ranges (NASR) and is the only one in Oregon and only one of seven facilities in the United States to earn this prestigious ranking.

Courses

The academy offers courses in handgun, rifle, and shotgun, generally oriented towards defensive and tactical use.

Instructors

OFA has a diverse diverse staff with experience ranging from military, police and prosecutorial talents.

Schedule

OFA has its schedule online.

Portland Firearms Training Team

Description

The Portland Firearms Training Team (PFTT), sometimes called the Portland Safety Training Team when conducting courses not explicitly related to firearms, is a group of volunteer instructors and assistants dedicated to basic firearms instruction in the Portland area. Courses tend to be offered at low cost.

Facilities

The PFTT courses are typically conducted on donated facilities from the Johnson Creek Gun Club, but have had classes at Douglas Ridge Rifle Club, Portland Rifle and Pistol Club, Canby Rod and Gun Club, and other facilities.

Courses

Refuse to Be a Victim (RTBAV), a three hour course designed to teach students about the options available for preventing crime to themselves or to their homes.

On a regular basis the team teaches NRA Home Firearms Safety and NRA FIRST Steps Pistol. The team also teaches many other NRA courses. Recently the team has started developing NRA instructors.

Schedule

The PFTT typically offers Home Firearm Safety and FIRST Steps Pistol on a bi-monthly basis. The team uses the NRA Web Site to promote the classes, but also maintains a schedule here.

Public Safety Training Center

Description

The Public Safety Training Center is a facility owned by Clackamas Countyand is located near I-205 (Sunnyside Exit) in Clackmas, OR :

12700 SW 82nd AVE
Clackamas, OR 97015
(503) 353-4644
(503) 353-4649

Facilities

The PSTC is a full-service indoor range with rental guns, armory, and brand new facilities. It's worth just visiting to see. You must use PSTC ammunition at their facilities.

Courses

The PSTC offers private one-hour instruction on handguns, shotguns, rifles, and submachine guns. It offers many kinds of classes and clinics, ranging from a concealed carry permit course, gun safety to advanced defensive pistol and deadly force. It also offers private lessons and clinics.

Thunder Ranch

Description

Thunder Ranch is moving from its Texas location to Lakeview, OR, approximately six hours away from Portland.

96747 Hwy 140 East
Lakeview, Oregon 97630
541-947-4104
Fax 541-947-4105

Facilities

The Thunder Ranch facilities feature square ranges, tactical houses, and long-distance shooting.

Courses

Thunder Ranch is another world-famous facility to go along with FAS. Their depth in courses on tactical handgun, shotgun, and rifle will tax most students. We are lucky to have so many world-class facilities within reach of Portland.

Instructor

Clint Smith teaches, writes, and lives tactical shooting. He previously taught at another world famous academy, America Pistol Institute (now Gunsite).

Schedule

The 2005 Schedule is now online.

Training Technologies Group (The Place to Shoot)

Description

Training Technologies Group offers classes at The Place To Shoot (TPTS) in North Portland near the Expo Center.

904 N Hayden Meadows Dr.
Portland, OR 97217
(503) 283-1995

Facilities

TPTS is an indoor range and has been in North Portland for over 10 years. The range features both individual lanes as well as a private tactical range where many of the defensive courses are conducted.

In recent months the Training Technologies Group was expanded their class offerings and facilities. Watch their web site for more information.

Courses

TPTS offers many courses, ranging from concealed handgun license requirements, to a basic pistol marksmanship track, to intermediate and advanced defensive pistol. Courses are broken up into smaller two or three hour blocks so students can learn at their own pace. After safely completing Defensive Handgun 3, students are allowed to rent the tactical range, where they can set up multiple targets and shoot from positions not suited for the lanes in the main range. TTG also offers courses in unarmed self-defense and a specific class for the Glock handgun.

Instructor

Richard Daniel has extensive background as a police firearms instructor for both the Washington and Oregon commissions, NRA Law Enforcement certification, as well as many military and police specialties. He has placed a lot of emphasis on private citizen self-defense in his training which he immediately applies to his classes.

Tri-County Gun Club

Description

Tri-County Gun Club is a large outdoor range in Sherwood, OR only ten miles South of Portland.

13050 SW Tonquin Road
Sherwood, Oregon
503-625-7318

Facilities

The club features extensive facilities ranging from indoor, practical, and covered firing points for pistol, to shotgun trap and skeet, to high-power rifle ranges.

Courses

Tri-County has the normal gamut of firearms safety courses, including hunter education and sight-in days. The club also features competitions, some of which might require separate orientation courses. Extensive competitive shooting events are hosted at the club, and they are useful adjuncts to a training plan.