When distance disappears. When hands come first. When hesitation gets you hurt.
Violent encounters don’t start at arm’s length with perfect sight pictures.
They start close, fast, chaotic, and physical.
The Combative Pistol Operator course is built for the moment when an attacker is already on you — grabbing, striking, driving you into the ground — and you must fight your way to the gun, keep control of it, and end the threat.
This is not a square-range shooting class.
This is contact-distance gunfighting, where empty hands, body mechanics, and weapon retention matter just as much as marksmanship.
You will learn how to strike, grapple, draw, and fire under extreme stress, integrating real-world combatives with advanced pistol work. Students are forced to problem-solve in dynamic scenarios that replicate the kinds of assaults civilians actually face — ambushes, clinch fights, ground fights, and weapon grabs.
If you’ve never trained what happens before the gun comes out — or what happens when it’s already being fought over — this class will change how you think about self-defense forever.
What You’ll Train
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Survival Mindset Under Physical Assault
Managing fear, aggression, and decision-making when violence is unavoidable -
Hand-to-Hand Combatives for Gunfighters
Effective strikes, frames, and positional control designed for real encounters — not sport fighting -
Fighting to the Draw
Creating space, breaking contact, and accessing the pistol while under physical pressure -
Fighting, Drawing, and Engaging
Integrating strikes, movement, and live-fire engagement under stress -
Weapon Retention
Preventing gun grabs and maintaining control when an attacker is within inches -
Fighting With the Handgun
Using the pistol as both a striking tool and a weapon system -
Ground Fighting with a Firearm
Shooting, retaining, and manipulating the pistol while on your back or side -
One-Handed Weapon Manipulation
Reloads, malfunctions, and shooting when one hand is injured or occupied
Required Equipment
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Magazine-fed pistol (no revolvers)
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Minimum of 3 magazines
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Belt-mounted magazine pouch
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Belt-mounted dominant-side holster
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Eye protection
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Ear protection (electronic preferred)
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Sturdy belt
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Weather-appropriate clothing and footwear suitable for athletic movement and ground work
Estimated Round Count
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250 rounds FMJ pistol
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100 rounds compressed copper frangible pistol
Who This Class Is For
This course is designed for serious students — responsibly armed citizens who understand that violence is messy and want the skills to prevail when everything goes wrong.
If you carry a pistol for defense and have never trained contact-distance gunfighting, this is the missing link.
Because fights don’t wait for you to be ready — and they don’t give you space.
Prerequisite: This is not a beginner level class. The student needs to know and be able to demonstrate safe gun handling, weapon system familiarity, foundational marksmanship skills, and working from a holster. We strongly recommend completion of our Defensive Handgun Advanced or Defensive Concealed Carry Class prior to registering for this course.