2014 PDN Training Tour Overview

It's that time of year again. The time of year when we start this spring training tour. And this year's personal events network training tour is going to be better than ever. We've got more stops, we've added an extra month, we've added more states, more instructors, and of course, new topics to the course list. You can learn more about the tour, the course list, and all the available locations where our instructors will be at personaldefensenetwork.com. The tour truck is always a big centerpiece of the tour because it gets us an opportunity to show off our sponsors everywhere that I go. I'll be making over 30 stops this year, between St. Augustine, Florida, where I'm standing right now, and Fairbanks Alaska. Normally we stop in the Pacific Northwest in July, but this year I'll be going all the way up to the Canadian Rockies and teaching a course in Alaska to end the tour in mid August. I'm really excited about this trip. Alaska is the only state I've never been to. Of course, I've never taught there before either, and we'll be running a combat focus shooting course there to finish up the tour. This year, we have some great returning sponsors and we've got some new sponsors that we've added to the mix as well. And you can see them right here on the side of the tour truck. Of course, personal defense network, the ultimate source of online training articles and videos, hundreds of free clips, articles that you can read on a variety of personal defense topics from people who are active instructors in the industry, as well as our premium membership, where we offer full length DVDs and even more clips and tips. Gander Mountain Academy is a company that I've worked with for several years now. They teach a lot of different programs from the ICE training course curriculum. They also have their own programs and they have state-of-the-art facilities all over the US. There are six locations. We do broadcast classes. They bring in outside instructors and they've got a top-notch staff. They're a returning sponsor and it's great to have them back. CrossBreed Holsters, of course, everybody knows that I prefer to use a crossbreed holster whenever I'm carrying inside the waistband. For a number of years I've used their appendix carry inside the waistband holster. They make an outstanding product. They do belts, they do magazine carriers, they do the truck holsters now, they've got different things for your bedside, they've got different holsters that you can apply using hook and loop fastener to a variety of different areas, but of course, they're known for their super tack. At four or five o'clock, it's probably the most comfortable inside the waistband option that I am familiar with. USCCCA. The United States Concealed Carry Association is one of the premier membership organizations inside of the firearms community. And everybody knows my favorite thing about the USCCA is their education. The fact that they take time in their magazine, in their communications, in the videos that they post to help people interested in concealed carry learn more about how to do it safely, how to do it appropriately. They're a great advocacy group for people who are interested in carrying firearms for personal defense and they have a lot of resources that they bring to the table that help augment everything we do at personal events, network, Gander Mountain Academy and a lot of other facilities and organizations across the community who are trying to educate responsible firearms users. CMMG. Now this is a new sponsor for this year. If you're not with CMMG manufacturing, they are an American company that specializes in high quality, fairly priced, AR parts, and now complete rifles. They're one of the up and coming companies in the industry quickly rising to be one of the leaders in AR 15 manufacturing and parts. What they do is put together a complete rifles for all levels of users that are fairly priced, highly reliable, and outstanding quality. They've got basic models, they've got competition models, they've got precision models, all available to you. We're going to be demoing a lot of their guns and of course, using their guns and all of the rifle courses that I'm teaching. Some of the other instructors have been using their stuff. Several months ago, I knew they were going to be sponsors and I started really torturing a couple of their guns. I've been very impressed. I've also built several guns over the years using their parts kits and using different components that they've manufactured. I'm a big believer in what CMMG brings to the table, and I'll look forward to sharing more information with you about their company and their parts throughout the tour. Gun vault's another returning sponsor. For years, I've worked with the Gunvault company for quick accessed safe education for the people who understand that they have to have their firearm ready to use but they also have a responsibility to keep it secure from unauthorized access whenever it's inside of their home. Gunvault makes a variety of different products for all price levels. Whether you're looking for something using a key, using a combination, or using biometric scanners, they've got a solution for your home defense gun. Springfield Armory USA. We have never had a handgun sponsor on the training tour before. But we've had people who were interested in being the handgun sponsor, but the truth is there's only a certain number of companies that I recommend when it comes to an efficient, reliable modern striker fired gun for you to carry, for you to rely on for personal defense, defense of others. Springfield Armory is one of those very few companies. Their XD model of pistol is an outstanding choice for someone who's looking for a reliable, affordable quality defensive handgun. And I'm carrying the XD-S nine millimeter 4.0 now. So it's great to have them on the tour. We've got some demo guns and loaner guns for our students coming through the classes. We'll be showing them off and talking about them a lot more as the spring and early summer goes on. Finally, extreme beam. Now, extreme beam's a name that you may not have heard of, but you may very well have used their products. Alpha tack extreme beam is well-known as a replacement led system for old incandescent handheld flashlights. If you ever upgraded, you probably used one of their LEDs and now they're making complete flashlights. I've been carrying around a couple of their flashlights, trying them out, testing them. Again, much like CMMG, it's a company that was relatively new to me over the past year, but one that I wanted to get to know so that I could share more information with you and make sure that they were up to the quality standards that I have for my own personal equipment and certainly for anything that we're gonna recommend here at personal defense network. The important thing to remember about our sponsors is that they're all either companies that I've worked with for years or that I've gotten to know more recently, but I absolutely believe in the parts their product line that I'm talking about on the tour and that we're sharing with our students. These are top quality companies with great opportunities for you to get better prepared for self-defense. Whether it's with information or the products that they sell. The training tour this year offers over 60 opportunities to train with our contributors. Every instructor on the tour has contributed either to our DVD series or the content online at personaldefensenetwork.com Alessandro Padovani, Omari Broussard, Grant Cunningham Chris fry, Mike Seeklander Caleb Causey and several other instructors are joining me to bring the training that you've seen on the DVDs or online right to you in your hometown or a place near you. We're gonna have over 35 stops on the tour. I'm gonna make almost 30 of them myself. I'll be pulling in with the PDN truck, opening the back door, showing off the samples, and of course, providing the training. Most of our opportunities are live fire range training with pistol or rifle, but we do have knife defense, unarmed defense, home defense tactics, concealed carry tactics and even medical training available on the tour this year. This is absolutely going to be the most comprehensive live training event that takes place this year. And it's all under one banner, the personal defense network training tour. I hope to see you somewhere across the US this year.