Firearms Training For Everyone
“I came into the course nervous and a little uncomfortable. I came out of it confident in my ability to use my gun to protect my family and with the knowledge of how and when to do so.”
— Female, 30s
If you know little or nothing about using or storing a gun, we’re the ones that can help you! We’ve been training civilians to defend themselves with handguns and carry them in states where it’s legal for nearly twenty years now.
The training we offer is tailored to those still fairly new to handguns, yet offers highly-experienced, long-time shooters plenty of help to improve their shooting skill sets as well. Young or old, male or female, we stand ready to help. Our team also excels in the training of those with disabilities. We can help you overcome whatever challenges you have, minor to profound.
GSL Defense Training provides Illinois State Police-approved coursework by our Illinois State Police-approved instructors which is required as part of the application process for an Illinois concealed carry license. We’re not new to this. We have been teaching similar courses for almost two decades.
Today, we have a diverse set of twenty-six outstanding instructors on staff, both male and female. They include attorneys, law-enforcement trainers (including a retired FBI instructor), MBAs, military veterans and a host of professionals from all walks of life. Most have been to top national schools, including overseas, to study. Each brings the best of what they have learned back to share with our students. Each and every one of our instructor cadre are very talented, patient and skilled at helping both new and experienced shooters improve their skills.
If you’re relatively new to gun ownership, want to overcome anxiety related to firearm use or ownership, or just want to have a solid foundation of training before you begin to carry a sidearm for personal defense, we can help. If you’re an experienced shooter, we’ll help you improve your skill sets to make you faster and more accurate. If you’re a firearms instructor, we’ll make you better.
For beginners: You’ll feel a good deal more secure and comfortable with handling a firearm after taking GSL Defense Training’s Illinois Concealed Carry course, an Illinois State Police-approved 16-hour course needed to apply for an Illinois concealed carry license. This course provides a solid foundation for more advanced studies. It also satisfies the training requirement for Florida and Arizona non-resident right-to-carry licenses which is valid in over thirty states. If you have previous military service or NRA training, we offer the 8-hour Illinois Basic CCW class as part of our Instructor Development course. Yes, we train the trainers, teaching them how to better diagnose and correct problems students may exhibit during live-fire exercises.
Our Training to Live and Win intermediate-level class provides some advanced training for those looking to build upon skills learned in basic firearm classes – without breaking the bank. These courses offer training in everything from practical shooting skills to detailed training on the judicious use of deadly force and decision-making in high-stress situations.
Critical Threat Management, a cutting edge, force-on-force class tailored to civilians. Force-on-force has seen proven results in law-enforcement and military training, and we’re one of a handful of companies offering this state-of-the-art training to civilians. GSL Defense Training’s Urban Rifle 101 class has taught everyday people the art of the tactical rifle now for fifteen-plus years.
Bringing the best of numerous classes together into a single location, Urban Rifle 101 provides the fundamentals of using your carbine rifle (primarily ARs, but we cover AKs too) to defend your home and family.
Our most recent addition is our Personal Protection for Teens class, that help teach the young adult in your life, ages 12-22, the skills they can use to avoid trouble and keep themselves safe in today’s world. Recent terror attacks and spree killings, along with increasingly violent cities have more and more folks thinking proactively about their safety and security – as we all should. Personal Protection for Teens brings some very timely and potentially life-saving skills to a one-day class.
Special note: Effective immediately, at this time, all variations of Sig P320 pistols are prohibited at our training courses for safety concerns. We will have loaner guns available, and gear, to be used if you don’t have anything except the Sig. We urge all Sig P320 owners to remove the gun from service immediately, and to follow the voluntary recall program with Sig-Sauer.
GSL Defense Training, LLC brings the same excellence to providing cutting-edge firearm and self-defense training that Guns Save Life brings to gun rights advocacy, although the two organizations are separate. GSL Defense Training is a very strong supporter of Guns Save Life and its mission and we work together towards shared goals.