This month, I attended both the AR-15 Cleaning and Maintenance and Pistol Cleaning and Maintenance classes.
I'm not local to Blackwing, but when I got there I was impressed by their facility. A large, well-stocked retail center, indoor range with rentable guns, outdoor shotgun sports, gunsmithing, etc.
Cleaning guns is super basic. Why pay someone and sit through a class? I grew up with guns in the house, and they were shot occasionally and cleaned...infrequently. I never really got good habits ingrained, and while there are a million videos for cleaning pretty much any firearm, so many of them contradict each other about what's most important, what you should ALWAYS do, what you should NEVER do...I decided to pay some money and get an in-person lesson on A way to clean a firearm.
Ben was the gentleman who ran each of the classes, and it was a pretty relaxed, friendly environment. This isn't rocket science, but I found each of the classes to be well worth the $25 charged.
It's definitely not rocket science, but it was really helpful for me to get the process broken down into steps, then get to do it hands-on, with supervision if problems arose. In both classes, there were people getting stuck on a certain step, asking for an additional detail on how to get two parts separated or back together...and a couple times that guy was me
. That's one area where no YouTube video is going to help out -- Ben was really helpful with questions that came up in the middle of the process, and would add whatever details were needed to make sure people weren't left frustrated and unsuccessful.Ben started each class with overviews about what cleaning products should be avoided for ARs and firearms with polymer parts, and some general ideas about rough schedules for replacing different wear parts. He then gave a basic overview of the step-by-step process for field stripping, then gave students time to repeat each of the steps. Plus - each night I came home with clean guns.
And looking around the website, I'm really impressed by Blackwing's class schedule -- https://blackwingsc.com/. They have a lot of classes for handgun, carbine and shotgun that are only a few hours long, available on weeknights, and run about $75. I think these offerings would be great for friends or family members who are on the fence about training, rather than requiring a full weekend, high round counts, $500/$600. I love those longer weekend classes, but it's a commitment.
It looks like they've really broken down the process into bite-sized chunks, too. An Introduction to Handguns class for those completely new to firearms, Handgun Selection to give a look at different pistols before you buy one, then a set of "Vital Pistol Skills" classes. These classes walk students through a progression of skills, from working from high ready and practicing reloads and clearing malfunctions, to working from a holster, safe reholstering, single-handed shooting, using a concealed holster, then moving and shooting and multiple targets.
So - highly recommend these classes specifically, and Blackwing in general.
