In 2018, the Green Family and Patriot Academy created a multi-day intensive firearms and constitutional training event, taught by the experts, that you won’t find anywhere else in the nation!

Appropriately called the Constitutional Defense Program, encompassing a variety of classes, it is a unique blend of Firearms Defense combined with Constitutional Education. Intellectual and physical training in the same program, combined with fellowship and study. A wonderful combination of disciplines that result in a well trained Patriot, prepared to defend the Constitution.

Importantly, as a non-profit organization, we provide this training for a fraction of what other training organizations charge (about an 80% discount). We are able to accomplish this by utilizing tax-deductible donations to cover the majority of the cost for the class. If you cannot attend but would like to donate to that scholarship fund, please email [email protected].

Since 2018, we’ve taken nearly 6,000 Patriots through this program at the discounted rate. In total, we’ve helped save these Patriots more than $7,350,000 in course fees. We were only able to do that due to the help of everyone who has donated and supported this program over the years. Thank you for your help!

Whether you have never held a gun before or you consider yourself extremely proficient with firearms, you will LOVE taking these classes as you learn the basics and the little known secrets of self-defense, and then practice until you’ve mastered them.

These classes are held on the Patriot Academy Campus in Fredericksburg, TX (Address coming soon)

**For LTC Add-On to this class, see further down on this website.

The Handgun Foundations Class is the required, introductory class for the Constitutional Defense Program (see tabs below for additional, advanced classes). All first time students must attend either a 2-Day, 3-Day, 4-Day or 5-Day Handgun Foundations course (length of course depends on what is available that time of the year), where you will learn not only a long list of self-defense skills, but you will get an overview of our training philosophy.

Here is a list of some of the items we’ll be covering on the range.

• Firearms safety and the Four Universal Firearms Safety Rules
• Checking the condition of the weapon
• Proper grip, and standing and ready positions
• Loading and unloading procedures
• Fundamentals of defensive marksmanship
• Dry practice and how to use it to improve your skills (a critical component of training that many organizations completely fail to teach)
• Balancing speed and accuracy in defensive shooting
• Presenting a handgun from a holster (both open and concealed)
• Primary and alternate shot-placement strategies
• Checking your environment following an encounter
• Reloading techniques and when to use them
• Identifying and clearing the three types of malfunctions
• How to use the minimum amount of force necessary to prevail
• Integrating movement into weapon presentation
• Engaging multiple attackers
• Close-contact shooting
• Lots of practice and individual coaching to maximize your learning

By the end of these classes, you will be able to spot a threat, present your sidearm from concealment and fire two controlled shots to the vital area on the threat in just 1.5 seconds!

2-Day and 4-Day Schedule:

Note: 2-Day & 4-Day classes run currently. 

Day 1: 7AM – 6PM

Day 2: 8AM – 6PM

Day 3: 8AM – 6PM

Day 4: 8AM – 6PM

Please see tabs below for equipment & ammo requirements.

Once you take the 4-Day or 5-Day Handgun Foundations class, you are eligible to take our Rifle and Shotgun Cross Trainer classes. As the name implies, these two classes build upon the skills in the Handgun Foundations class. The 2-Day and 3-Day Handgun Foundations are available for those who need a shorter schedule, but it does not qualify you for the cross-trainers or advanced classes.

Prerequisites: You must have taken a 2-Day or 4-Day Handgun Foundations Class.

Our refresher classes vary in their length, but are designed to cover in a short time the content that our handgun, rifle, or shotgun classes taught you. Usually this class will be 1-Day or a Half-Day long.

These classes are designed to take multiple times each year to stay sharp with your training. You will review the core concepts that you learned in your previous class and receive detailed coaching from our instructor team on refining the fundamentals of your skill sets.

1-Day Schedule:

Day 1: 7AM – 6PM

Equipment requirements are the same as the appropriate pre-requisite class.

To qualify for the refresher class, you must have taken a 2-Day or 4-Day class in the appropriate discipline (handgun, rifle, or shotgun).

Prerequisites: You must have taken a 4-Day Handgun Foundations Class

The Handgun Skill Builder Class is ideal “next step” for anyone who has taken the Handgun Foundations Class. If you are looking to work on your skills or work towards medaling on the skills exam (in order to qualify for Intermediate and Advanced classes), then the Skill Builder Class is perfect for you.

The content covered in this class will be the same as the Handgun Foundations, with a far higher repetition rate. Additionally, all students will get to experience a simulated scenario in our shoot-house.

Required Ammo: 750 Rounds for 3-Day Class

3-Day Schedule

Day 1: 7AM – 6PM

Day 2: 8AM – 6PM

Day 3: 8AM – 6PM

Please note: If you are a return student and would like to attend one of these classes below, please email us at [email protected] so that we can verify your eligibility and get you signed up manually.

3-Day Intermediate Handgun Class

Prerequisites: You must have taken a 4-Day Handgun Foundations Class and scored Bronze or higher on the end of class skills test.

Having proven your skills during your Constitutional Defense handgun class, it’s time to develop your handgun repertoire with the addition of new skills and increasing challenges. The Intermediate Handgun Class will hone your existing skills and provide you with additional tools to prevail in a gunfight.  Additional tactical techniques and the use of alternative shooting platforms will allow you to confidently engage targets in more challenging situations, including hostage rescue shots and shots at ranges out to 50 yards. Progressively more challenging range drills will keep you on your toes and train your ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

Schedule: 

Day 1: 8AM – 6PM

Day 2: 8AM – 6PM

Day 3: 8AM – 6PM

Intermediate Handgun Equipment Requirements:

• Semi-automatic handgun suitable for defensive use
• If your gun is equipped with a manual safety, it must be ambidextrous
• 850 rounds of ammunition
• 3 magazines
• Holster worn on the firing (dominant-side) hip
• Magazine or speed loader pouch
• Hand-held flashlight with end-cap button or switch
• Electronic ear protection
• Hat with a brim
• Concealment garment, such as a jacket, vest, or sweatshirt
• Knee-pads (optional)

3-Day Rifle Cross-Trainer

Prerequisites: You must have taken a 4-Day Handgun Foundations Class.

The Rifle Cross-Trainer will give you the ability and confidence to use your rifle as an effective defensive weapon.  Building on the skills you learned with your handgun during your Handgun Foundations Class, you’ll apply the same techniques and philosophies to a rifle, learning to use it to protect yourself and your loved ones.  You’ll learn how to perform all of the skills you learned with the handgun with a rifle, starting with fundamental gun handling techniques like chamber check and magazine check, and working through malfunctions, reloads, alternative shooting positions, and more.  You’ll spend ample time on the firing line, learning, practicing, and refining, while testing your limits with timed and scored events.  You’ll conclude the course with the Standard Rifle Skills Test to identify your strengths and weaknesses, and give you a measure of your overall proficiency.

Schedule: 

Day 1: 8AM – 5PM

Day 2: 8AM – 5PM

Day 3: 8AM – 5PM

Rifle Equipment Requirements:

• Semi-automatic rifle suitable for defensive use
• 750 rounds of ammunition
• 2 magazines (3 or more recommended)
• Rifle sling
• Eye protection
• Electronic ear protection
• Hat with a brim
• Knee-pads (optional)

2-Day Shotgun Cross-Trainer

Prerequisites: You must have taken a 4-Day Handgun Foundations Class.

The Shotgun Cross-Trainer will give you the ability and confidence to use your shotgun as an effective defensive weapon.  Building on the skills you learned with your handgun during your Handgun Foundations Class, you’ll apply the same techniques and philosophies to a shotgun, learning to use it to protect yourself and your loved ones.  You’ll learn how to perform all of the skills you learned with the handgun with a shotgun, starting with fundamental gun handling techniques like chamber check and magazine check, and working through malfunctions, reloads, alternative shooting positions, and more.  You’ll spend ample time on the firing line, learning, practicing, and refining, while testing your limits with timed and scored events.  You’ll conclude the course with the Standard Shotgun Skills Test to identify your strengths and weaknesses, and give you a measure of your overall proficiency.

Schedule: 

Day 1: 8AM – 5PM

Day 2: 8AM – 5PM

Shotgun Equipment Requirements:

• Pump-action or semi-automatic shotgun suitable for defensive use
• 300 rounds of bird-shot, 100 rounds of buckshot, and 75 slugs
• Shotgun sling
• Eye protection
• Electronic ear protection
• Hat with a brim
• Knee-pads (optional)

Please Note: Private training days are available only by request and availability of instructors. Please contact [email protected] with dates you are interested in for private training and we will let you know if we have staff available to accommodate your request.

For 2023, private training will focus on handgun only (rifle and shotgun coming 2024).

For those who have attended the Handgun Foundations Class, we are happy to welcome you to exclusive, private training on the Patriot Academy Campus!

Private training is ideal for those who have attended the Handgun Foundations Class and would like exclusive training to hone specific skills through repetition, beyond what a class with a large group offers. Depending on your skill level as evaluated by your private instructor, these training days even allow you to complete material covered in our intermediate classes. Generally speaking, the curriculum for private training will be decided by you, depending on what you would like to work on. As with all of our classes, instructors have the right to refuse/adjust requests if they believe them unsafe, not in accordance with our training methods, or if students are not prepared for the training requested.

By popular demand, private training days also allow you to take the skills test (normally given at the end of the 4-Day Foundations Class), even multiple times in one day. If you did not medal in your Foundations class and you would like to take the advanced classes we offer, private training days are perfect for working with an instructor on exactly the skills you need to medal on the skills test.

Depending on instructor availability, you can book multiple private training days in a row.

Cost

Each day of private training is $500 flat. This cost allows for 1-3 people to have an entire day with an instructor on their own range. If you would like just a half-day of instruction, the cost is still $500 flat.

Please note: A single instructor has a maximum of 3 people they can instruct at one time for a private training session. If you would like to do a larger group, you can request additional instructors. Please ask [email protected] for availability. 

Schedule

When you book a private training, you are welcome to begin at any point in the day after 7:30AM. We end all days at 6PM on the range. Preferred start time is 7:30AM to allow for paperwork signings and then starting on the range by 8AM. All private days will include a one-hour (or longer if requested by students) lunch break.

Equipment & Ammo Count

Equipment requires are in accordance with our full classes, in the weapon of your choice. Please review the other tabs on this page for information for each weapon platform.

Ammo count will vary depending on the drills you wish to cover. We highly recommend bringing more ammo than you expect to shoot. A good starting number would be 300 rounds per day, although it is very easy to shoot up to 500 rounds in a single day. Our onsite pro-shop will have ammo for purchase if you need more.

LTC Add-On Price = $75*

If you are attending a 4-Day Handgun Foundations Class, we are happy to offer you the ability to get your Texas License to Carry (LTC) during your 4-Day class. Almost all of our 4-Day classes have this add-on option available. This add-on does not add an additional day to your schedule, all of the LTC related work is completed in the evenings.

Our LTC qualified instructors will guide you through the state curriculum. Even if you aren’t a Texas resident, you can still take this class and apply for a Texas non-resident license! This is a great license to have if you visit Texas often, and it might even add a few states around the country that allow you to carry while visiting.

Please note: You must attend all portions of the 4-Day class to qualify for the LTC. The LTC add on will also involve extra work in the evenings, including shooting the 50 round LTC range qualification test.

To add-on obtaining your LTC during your 4-Day class, please email [email protected]. 

*Price includes the state required classroom teaching and range test.

**You as the attendee will still be required to apply for your license, obtain your fingerprints, and upload your signed LTC form to the required Texas website (this is what our team will give you a couple of weeks after your class, certifying you passed the LTC class).

Our team here at Patriot Academy has collectively been through hundreds of firearms courses at various facilities and organizations across the nation; in addition to the thousands of classes taught by our instructor team. Our philosophy has always been to train as often as possible, with as many different teachers as possible, to learn as much as possible.

We often get asked the question “XYZ organization is local for me, should I consider training with them?”

Our response is almost always going to be yes – please get as much training as you can. That being said, we always like to communicate what our experience with other organizations has been and why those experiences led Patriot Academy to develop its own program, rather than just attend other classes.

Most firearms training organizations or instructors gear their training towards individuals with previous firearms experience (law enforcement, military, competition shooter, etc). The training itself is often very good – but equally as often it is too advanced for beginning shooters. Even if the class is built to “push and test” a new shooter, it often does so in a way where basic fundamentals of shooting are set aside in favor of the “cool, flashy” drills that look good on camera and sell more seats.

Put simply – when beginner classes have new shooters sprinting up and down a range behind cover, taking multiple shooting positions, etc – we find that most shooters leave that class having had fun, but not having focused enough on the basics to feel completely comfortable with the information.

Our philosophy is to prepare both brand new and experienced shooters with the fundamentals to win a self-defense encounter. This means that we will be spending a large amount of our time on repetitive drills, meant to help you get comfortable with the idea of loaded firearms, keeping firearms by your bed, having a loaded firearm holstered on your body, etc.

Here is a list of some of the items we’ll be covering on the range in all of our classes, but highlighted specifically in our Handgun Foundations Course.

• Firearms safety and the Four Universal Firearms Safety Rules
• Checking the condition of the weapon
• Proper grip, and standing and ready positions
• Loading and unloading procedures
• Fundamentals of defensive marksmanship
• Dry practice and how to use it to improve your skills (a critical component of training that many organizations completely fail to teach)
• Balancing speed and accuracy in defensive shooting
• Presenting a handgun from a holster (both open and concealed)
• Primary and alternate shot-placement strategies
• Checking your environment following an encounter
• Reloading techniques and when to use them
• Identifying and clearing the three types of malfunctions
• How to use the minimum amount of force necessary to prevail
• Integrating movement into weapon presentation
• Engaging multiple attackers
• Close-contact shooting
• Lots of practice and individual coaching to maximize your learning

Once you have taken our flagship 4-Day or 5-Day Handgun Foundations Class, then please come join our team for advanced courses as well.

One important principle for all of our programs here at Patriot Academy is that intellectual ammunition be delivered in a fun, engaging, in-depth manner. Our teachers in the classroom will always include someone on the Patriot Academy staff such as Rick Green, Reagan Green, or Aaron Marshall – as well as occasional guest speakers like David Barton, Tim Barton, Mark Meckler, Daniel Horowitz, Todd Starnes, Steve Deace, and many others.

We’ll cover a wide variety of topics in these classes, such as the following:

• The five levels of competence in firearms training
• Developing the mental awareness to win (or avoid) a lethal encounter
• Justification for the use of deadly force
• Moral implications and decision-making regarding deadly force
• Safe and effective dry practice procedures for use at home
• Navigating the legal system following a self-defense shooting
• Managing the situation following a shooting
• Adopting a winning mindset
• Physiological effects of life-threatening stress
• Identifying and using pre-assault indicators to preempt a violent attack.

We heard from many of you and we are now excited to announce that the Constitutional Defense Program can be brought to your local shooting range! 

We know that travel out of state can be difficult for many people, so we have done our best to create a plan that brings the top-tier training of the Constitutional Defense Program to you, at as low a price point possible.

If you would like to bring the Defense Program to your area, please review this linked Google Drive document that lays out all of our requirements.

If you would like to book the Defense Program, or just have questions, please reach out to us at [email protected] and we’d be happy to discuss details.