Active Shooter Defense School

This is the best gun handling school I have ever experienced! Hands down, you will learn more than any other program you could ever imagine. After two solid days of training any gun owner will walk away more experienced, more confident, and a far superior shoot and gun owner than 95% of users anywhere. The Active Shooter Defense School will teach you salty, gun handling, shooting, and what you need to know for use in the real world. THIS IS A FANTASTIC PROGRAM and is worth 10x more than the cost! AMAZING and an awesome time!

I cannot say enough positive things about my time with Matt and ASDS. I have 20 years of shooting under my belt (80% pistol, 15% rifle, 5%), and the Combat Pistol 1 & 2 course was the best training and education I’ve ever received. Second to none.
Matt is an expert. He also brought in Lee and Seth as proctors in the course to help us out, and they were fantastic as well.
While this (Combat Pistol 1 & 2) isn’t a course for the beginner, ASDS does offer introductory courses, and I would STRONGLY recommend them to ALL firearms owners. Matt brings real, experience-​based knowledge that can never be learned from a youtube video or book.
I’ll be going back to sharpen both my pistol and carbine skills. If you have any questions, please ask!

I’d been looking to attend one of ASDS’ courses when my work schedule would permit since last year. Attending this past weekend’s pistol course was insightful, clear cut, instructive, very entertaining, and enormous fun. Being prior service, I very quickly realized how much techniques and training had changed and improved, and I honestly felt grateful to learn dynamic and effective drills, which historically were reserved for select military and police occupations. The fact that some attendees in my class had been in some of those select occupations, and willingly took the instruction in a total student mindset, to me, constituted the highest compliment possible. I do look forward to attending future courses, and Matt Klier is an outstanding, down-​to-​earth instructor. I believe I’d have to spend triple ASDS’ class price point to get the noticeable increase in competency and confidence in a personal firearm elsewhere.

If your overwhelmed about all the «training» programs in San Diego, make the ONE choice, The RIGHT Choice, and go see Matt and his crew. The education and experience are superior and excellent. Matt is an exceptional instructor that takes the time to instruct you in a way in which you can learn. The environment is friendly, supportive and encouraging. Do not be deterred by the drive to Dulzura, sure its far, but the drive is very beautiful and once you get on the range, it’s just incredible. Great weather, views and setup. Matt has given me the tools to greatly improve my skill level, and I’m going to continue to work on it, so that I may take his more advanced rifle classes. A huge thanks from one Matt to Another! It’s really hard NOT to have fun, so just come out and take some classes with ASDS!

I cannot thank Matt enough for being such an awesome trainer. I am new to guns, only starting to shoot seriously in 2014, and I have taken several classes in pistol basics and home defense. Matt has made it incredibly easy to follow the fundamentals and practice this daily to perfect my aim and leave bad habits behind. I was nervous in the beginning to take classes when I have heard about what jerks some guy trainers can be to new female students, but rest assured, ladies — Matt is the best! He understands your level and wants you to learn and get better. My shooting has improved so much, but I will continue to take more classes with Matt and team to keep my skills sharp. I would highly recommend any new shooters to take Matt’s classes and learn your fundamentals now before you get into bad habits or worse, not learn safety first on your weapons. For those of you who are advanced shooters, you can never stop practicing and take more training to get better. I would not say I was afraid of guns when I started, possibly overthinking to be safe, but I sure am not now. Just always cautious and follow the rules. If you are ever interested in taking a class with ASDS, feel free to contact me. I would be a reference for Matt and his team any day. They are professionals; ex-​military, law enforcement, etc., and they are passionate about you being safe but have fun learning. Matt also uses humor which definitely breaks up the stress. Too bad I can only give 5 stars! I’ll be baaaaaack!

Over the last year, I have attended 4 different courses and one of their competitions. Matt is a great trainer who keeps it light and real at the same time. Even got the wife out to a beginner rifle course and she felt extremely comfortable. I will continue to make the hour long drive.

This was a great time and we learned a lot! Matt is a great instructor, funny, personable and professional. As someone who has been shooting for a few months this was a great much needed intro course that really helped me get better but also give me the reasons as to all the techniques we were learning and practicing. I learned to correct my problems and that was totally worth it. I highly recommend this to anyone who has picked up their first pistol or is experienced and looking to improve.
I’m looking forward to continue the training with Matt and team and try other courses when I pick up my AR.

My boyfriend and I took Matts first day handgun class and had a blast. Neither of us had shot a handgun before but we’re considering buying one, his first class was great and perfect for beginners. He started with the basics and kept drilling them in while we shot so that we would remember them. He gave us each tips and comments to help us improve while shooting. We both came out much more comfortable with handguns in general and we’re both hitting the bullseye (well ok, maybe not the middle but pretty close) we would definitely recommend his guidance for any level.

These guys are awesome. The classes are fun but you also learn a lot, and they are really patient with my repeated mistakes. Sign up for one of their courses, all the cool kids are doing it.

Just took a woman’s self defense class with Matt & Alex. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but had the time of my life! After 6 hours of training and laughs, I came away feeling more confident and a smarter gun owner. Matt is very friendly, patient and knows his stuff. He helped me work on some bad habits so I am improving my skills. Alex was patient and encouraged this 59 year old lady to «kick some butt». I can’t wait to work with these two professionals again.

I give Active Shooter Defense School my highest recommendation for anyone, complete beginners to advanced shooters, looking to improve their marksmanship or just have a really fun time on the range with a variety of different guns with great instructors. I was fortunate enough to have lessons with Matt and Jamie. Their professionalism, friendly dispositions, and vast knowledge and experience was a real treat and unparalleled elsewhere. They seriously go above and beyond for their students. In just three classes, my skill with the pistol, shotgun (ouch!), AR-​15, and sniper rifle improved immeasurably and I had a blast (no pun intended)! Scheduling the lessons was a breeze and the personal touches, whether it’s keeping in touch with instructors afterwards for advice, encouragement, or answers to firearms-​related questions, really set this school apart from others. Truly one of a kind. These guys really know how to show a girl (boys, too) a good time and make her feel special while providing a tremendously valuable comprehensive marksmanship education. I cannot recommend ASDS high enough. Thank you guys! x JP

Matt is a total professional, and does a great job of showing people how to shoot better without being condescending. Best of all, he explains why certain things are more efficient or safer than other techniques. He’s very friendly, and we spent almost as much time laughing as we did shooting. Highly recommended for anyone who wants to improve their skills, or for a first time shooter who’s never held a gun before.

ASDS is in it’s own league when it comes to firearm training. Whether you are a first time shooter and looking to get a solid foundation or you are experienced and looking to take it to the level, this is your school. I’ve taken a good amount of classes from different schools and instructors and this is best training I’ve had. My shooting and confidence has really improved. Matt pointed out a couple bad habits I had developed after the years in a very simple and respectable way and more importantly he explained why! This allowed me to work through the mechanics. I really can’t recommend this school enough. I will be back over and over again.

I recently took the intermediate two day combat pistol class with ASDS and it was one of the best decisions I have made to improve my shooting ability.
I went into this class a pretty good shooter, but by the end of the two days my shooting had improved dramatically. Matt and Reggie were able to collapse on my skill set and finely hone them. Which reduced my time and increased my accuracy. Not only did my shooting vastly improve but I had fun. All too often shooting classes are boring and sometimes stale. Fortunately, that was not the case with ASDS. The instructors are very personable and keep the environment enjoyable. The class is taught to a group, individually. Meaning Matt would teach the class a concept then have the group work on it and spend time with each one of us until we fully understood and were able to perform it. No matter what level you are at you will improve in one of their classes.
I don’t care how many dynamic videos you have watched, or how many posts you have on calguns. The bottom line is you need to go train and ASDS is the place to do it. We all had a great time and you will too.

Intermediate Combat Pistol Course 3 & 4 at ASDS was my first class, ever.
A couple of my more experienced friends found an insanely good deal at ASDS, and I couldn’t pass it up. We talked to Matt to make sure I could do alright in the class and he assured us that I would be fine with my experience level, albeit informal. He offered to give me a quick primer a couple weeks before to make sure I was comfortable.
I first met Matt at his private range at the South Bay Rod & Gun Club for one of his open shoot Fridays. Once there, he immediately put my mind at ease when he showed me how he worked with each of our individual strengths and weaknesses.
For $ 25 I feel like I got a «Combat Handgun 1» class minus a certificate and obviously less time on target. Over the next two weeks I only went to the range once to practice what I could remember from his quick lesson and was again a little anxious leading up to the class.
As we showed up to meet our classmates, I was again put at ease. There were two instructors for seven of us, all very like minded but from different realms of shooting. A couple competition shooters wanted to get a little more tactics oriented and others were taking their military and police training to a higher level, whereas I was mostly looking to play GI Joe for the weekend. Regardless of our individual skill levels Matt seems to attract a certain no-​bullshit type of crowd which makes for an almost family like setting right out of the gate.
At the start of class we were asked what our goals were. For some it was speed and accuracy, others wanted to refine their existing skills, but for me, I simply wanted the confidence with my handgun that I never truly had. The confidence to draw from my holster, get on target quickly, reload without hesitation, work through malfunctions, and deliver shots on target. Any one of which I’d have been happy to have achieved. Matt and Reggie delivered all of this and more.
Including the hooded box drills where your world is turned upside down in an instant, the stress induced final course culminating in everything I learned, and all the shots in between, I easily had the most fun I’ve ever had with a gun and amazingly, ammo was the single greatest cost.
Matt spaced out our breaks perfectly and uses the down time to keep us thinking or entertaining us with hilarious banter and great stories. The class is about *doing* but in those «range is cold» moments we got excellent insight about gear and tactics from guys that have spent a lot of time actually using it where it matters.
He’s really open minded when it comes to techniques and importantly talks about the WHY what he teaches works so well. He acknowledges that different people and different situations require different techniques, so it’s sort of a, «If it doesn’t work for you, don’t do it» kind of deal.
If you haven’t taken a class before, you’re really missing something super fun that helps you get a lot more enjoyment out of shooting and makes your shots infinitely more productive. Yeah, classes aren’t dirt cheap, but I guarantee you’ll get way better, way faster, for way less money than doing the same old thing over and over again at the range.
If you’ve got a couple classes under your belt, I can’t imagine you’ve had more fun then at an ASDS class. When I wasn’t focused on my front sight and The Three S’s, I was dying laughing, smiling with pride, or just in awe of how great it was to be there.
By the end of day one, I saw vast improvements in all aspects of my shooting. By the end of day two, I was ringing multiple steel targets in the dark, reloading my gun and clearing malfunctions one handed weak side, scoring shots with blurry goggles on the ground rolled-​over prone, destroying abdomens point blank from the hip, and just generally fucking up bad guys… and a single innocent bystander — I was THAT guy, hahaha.
Most importantly, I knew what I was doing: every time I touched my gun I was doing so deliberately and confidently. Then slowly and surely, I was thinking less and less about all the little things that are so critical to making shots count — they were just coming naturally. I was striving infinitely past my simple goals.
My beard also grew 3 inches.

Having fired guns only once before in my life, this was a great place to come to to basically learn everything from the ground up. Matt, our instructor, worked at an individual pace for my girlfriend and I and taught us everything we needed to know from safety to technique and made sure everything was in order. He had a ton of tips to aid us in any issues we were having and best of all, we had a TON of fun!
I would recommend this school to anyone looking to learn how to shoot a firearm, hone your skills, or learn advanced shooting tactics. Great teaching skills, Matt!

Just went to this range yesterday. I took a beginner hand gun class with instructor, Matt. I had a blast. Before this class I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. By the end of the class I was hitting bullseyes every time! Matt had a ton of techniques to help me deal with any issues that I had. I would highly recommend this school to all levels of shooters! I would give this class 6 stars if I could!
–Dee

Just finished a Basic 2 hour pistol course. Matt is a fantastic instructor!
While I have been shooting right handed my whole life, I have now found myself in a position, having to switch over to left hand shooting, so basically i am a noob. This course was just what I needed. Gave me the confidence and corrections that I needed to feel comfortable shooting again.
The instruction is top notch, easy going and informative. Perfect for the beginner, or for people like me who need to freshen up their skill sets.
I will be going back for the other beginner as well as advanced classes. Can’t wait to try my skills at the monthly competition!

Matt and his team at ASDS are the gold standard in fire arms training schools. They have a unique way to get beginner students comfortable in their ability to utilize a firearm with confidence. If you or a loved one is brand new to using a firearm let Matt and his guys show you how safe, simple, and confident you can feel with a tool that can save your life. As for the advanced shooter you will learn and experience the most up to date and effective techniques from guys who’ve experienced «THE REAL DEAL GUNFIGHTS». If you are looking for a firearms class that will take you to the next level in your training this is where you’ll want to be!

Great introductory class to hand guns. Learned a lot about stance, grip and most importantly SAFETY. I felt very comfortable afterwards and enjoyed the class. Matt and Rocky were great instructors, easy to understand and funny too. Going again next month for a more advanced class. Can’t wait.