Curious if anybody offers middle and advanced shooting classes in hawaii?

The instructor down at Honolulu Firearms will tailor a class almost specifically to what you want... You'll need about 5 guys to do it with you. I think his name is Russel Tanji.

Curious if anybody offers middle and advanced shooting classes in hawaii?

mainland groups are coming out to oahu more frequently than in the past
hopefully, there will be more and more in the future

I message Travis Haley once, who likes to come to Hawaii to hand glide. From what he told me, its not very cost effective or worth organizing  anything because we don't have enough people for the most part, it would be too expensive and it's very hard to find a training area that would work out.

I emailed Reid Hendricks from valor Ridge, Rob ski from AK 47 operators Union and polenar Tactical to see if they would be interested in hosting they class in Hawaii one day, but they have yet to respond.

I think it all depends on your intended purpose. I'm not sure about sports shooting or long range shooting, but if you're looking for legitimate tactical training, I would keep an eye on the Hawaii black rifles group as most of them are former and or current Special Operations and used to offer classes quite a bit.

Would be difficult to find here due to very few ranges on the island that can accomidate a class like that, maybe some of the small ranches here could support it.  Military and law enforcement have a lot of opportunities here and some may be open to the public like the recent PACDIVs which were more toward precision shooting.

I'm attending Front Sight in Nevada for Tactical Shotgun and Tactical Handgun next month, and Sig Sauer Academy in New Hampshire in April.

Curious if anybody offers middle and advanced shooting classes in hawaii?

Which island in particular or is any island OK?

As mentioned the range logistics has probably been the most limiting factor.  There are classes / courses that take place but you don't see anything "open enrollment".  The courses are generally private civilian, or closed LE / Military based.  Hopefully things will improve in the future. 

I message Travis Haley once, who likes to come to Hawaii to hand glide. From what he told me, its not very cost effective or worth organizing  anything because we don't have enough people for the most part, it would be too expensive and it's very hard to find a training area that would work out.

I emailed Reid Hendricks from valor Ridge, Rob ski from AK 47 operators Union and polenar Tactical to see if they would be interested in hosting they class in Hawaii one day, but they have yet to respond.

I think it all depends on your intended purpose. I'm not sure about sports shooting or long range shooting, but if you're looking for legitimate tactical training, I would keep an eye on the Hawaii black rifles group as most of them are former and or current Special Operations and used to offer classes quite a bit.

I haven't talked to Travis in some time, but he was trying to get me to work something out here, so I know he is/was interested, but he understands the range situation and LE / Military was not going to hire for a course. 

There is a lot of interest here in Hawaii for courses to take place, but it is all private range, private course stuff.  Some big names come here and there are others coming, but it is all private stuff.  One of the courses had more in attendance than he books on mainland venues.  Too many IMO.  The interest and money is here for them if the logistics could get worked out with a solid venue that is more open for public participation.  Until that time most stuff will continue to remain private, by groups who bring in the courses and most people won't hear about it.  Kinda sux, but that is the reality of it.

As for HBR, I was shooting with two of them this summer and they are not doing anything right now and that is venue related.  They are working their full time jobs and not sure what plans they have for the future if any.  Real good, solid dudes.     

I haven't talked to Travis in some time, but he was trying to get me to work something out here, so I know he is/was interested, but he understands the range situation and LE / Military was not going to hire for a course. 

As for HBR, I was shooting with two of them this summer and they are not doing anything right now and that is venue related.  They are working their full time jobs and not sure what plans they have for the future if any.  Real good, solid dudes.     

Yeah, and Travis is doing so well with Haley Strategic and all his DVD material that he really doesn't need to run ranges unless he wants to. Wish him and Costa would team up again and hold more seminars across the country.

To those wondering: no, I do not know Travis Haley personally, nor am I attempting to portray that I maintain constant contact with him. We have exchanged a few messages/emails, and he was nice enough to take the time to respond to whatever questions I had.


Someone who knows a few of the guys said they probably got shipped out or are doing their pewpew side jobs, which is why they haven't been active on social media for quite some time or holding classes. Too bad because I really enjoyed their different perspectives on the more popular approaches.

Yeah, and Travis is doing so well with Haley Strategic and all his DVD material that he really doesn't need to run ranges unless he wants to. Wish him and Costa would team up again and hold more seminars across the country.

To those wondering: no, I do not know Travis Haley personally, nor am I attempting to portray that I maintain constant contact with him. We have exchanged a few messages/emails, and he was nice enough to take the time to respond to whatever questions I had.


Someone who knows a few of the guys said they probably got shipped out or are doing their pewpew side jobs, which is why they haven't been active on social media for quite some time or holding classes. Too bad because I really enjoyed their different perspectives on the more popular approaches.

A lot of guys here know Travis from back in the day and he still loves Hawaii.  I wasn't close friends with him either but we did have mutual friends in the contracting circles.  In the early 2000's we were doing some helo training and he was mentioning that he was going to go work for some company making poly mags as he handed me a prototype Pmag.  I said Magpu who?  Funny stuff back then. 

Travis had taken some photo's of me shooting his M4 from the helo.  It had the prototype BAD lever on it, which is a bit different from the retail version.  When the Magpul DVD came out, he was running this exact same M4 rifle in the DVD that I was shooting from the helo shoot.  The picture of me and his rifle made its rounds on the www.  Crazy thing is that everyone immediately knew that was Travis' rifle even without him in the photo.  Kinda creepy.  But Travis still enjoys the shooting, the classes and interacting with people in the flesh.

HBR, some left and 2 of the main guys are living here full time as civilians.  They shut down primarily as the venue shut down.  If you need to contact them for any reason, I can put you in touch. 

Try asking around at the next gun show.  There are a lot of instructors at the booths.  Maybe some of them offer more advanced classes on special request.  i would imagine you would need to have people to split the cost to make it affordable.  I know that Butch Helemano at http://northshoremarksmen.vpweb.com/ doesbasic NRA and CCW permit so maybe he does other classes?  I never took any of his classes so i cannot comment on them but I got his card at the gun show.

I actually go to Front Sight classes in Pahrump Nevada.  Just make it part of the yeary Vegas trip.

A lot of guys here know Travis from back in the day and he still loves Hawaii.  I wasn't close friends with him either but we did have mutual friends in the contracting circles.  In the early 2000's we were doing some helo training and he was mentioning that he was going to go work for some company making poly mags as he handed me a prototype Pmag.  I said Magpu who?  Funny stuff back then. 

Travis had taken some photo's of me shooting his M4 from the helo.  It had the prototype BAD lever on it, which is a bit different from the retail version.  When the Magpul DVD came out, he was running this exact same M4 rifle in the DVD that I was shooting from the helo shoot.  The picture of me and his rifle made its rounds on the www.  Crazy thing is that everyone immediately knew that was Travis' rifle even without him in the photo.  Kinda creepy.  But Travis still enjoys the shooting, the classes and interacting with people in the flesh.

HBR, some left and 2 of the main guys are living here full time as civilians.  They shut down primarily as the venue shut down.  If you need to contact them for any reason, I can put you in touch.

Was he stationed her in Hawaii before he moved into contracting? Like I said, I don't know him personally, and never really asked him about his background. I wanna say that he went to the preliminary Marine sniper school here in Hawaii, but I'm not too sure.

I remember he recommended the modifications I made to my rifle before heading to Afghanistnan, as well as how to maintain my rifle when in country; never ran into one problem following his advice. I'm not sure if it was his doing, but I remember I reached out to magpul to send me a tester for the MS2 sling, but got no response until after I sent him an email. Few weeks later, I had a brand new MS2 that made switching from patrol carry to hands-free so much easier. I recall telling him about the really bad roll over and IED attack we had, and how that sling really made the medevac and casevacs we did so much easier.

Last I wrote him, he was telling me how he loves to glide at Makapu'u, and said he might come back in the near future; never got a response back, but I told him that he should plan it around an HDF fun shoot 

I have a friend that has been waiting patiently for them to resume operations. If you could send them a line that some guys from the 442nd scout platoon are looking to get some training, maybe they can arrange something for those guys. My friend is always trying to get the best training for himself and his soldiers, and thinks that HBR can give them what they need compared to the garbage that they have to work with in the Army.

PM sent.

I've taken a few classes with Jason Falla of Redback One and have been looking to get them out to Hawaii for a class.  The closest I got was a friend who was building a private range on Kauai.  Last we spoke, they had a 30 yard range that they were using for pistol classes.  They were planning to expand to at least 100 yards with more with the intent to be able to do rifle classes, which is what I was interested in.  The plan/hope was to do a two-day handgun and two-day carbine.  They stalled in their plans for getting the rifle range opened and then I sort of lost touch with both.  I should the range friend back up and see what happened. 

So frustrating that we have so many people interested in this type of training and no facilities to accommodate, at least for the public.  I know of one ranch-type property on the north shore that we've shot at, but it's only suitable for handgun courses.  Another shooting friend had ideas to get Kyle Defoor or another group from Alias to come out, but again, lack of suitable range stopped those plants. 

One buddy in Oregon has Northern Red coming out in September for a combo two-day handgun and two-day carbine.  Very tempted to fly up there for that. 

I've also taken a couple of courses with Russel Tanji, but that was maybe 3-4 years ago now.  Local and we shot at the indoor range at Honolulu Firearms.  You had to buy your ammo there, but it wasn't that bad.  Good training, but very much limited in what you can do in such a small range.  My thoughts were take what you can from each course and add to one's tool box. 

Regarding Travis Haley, one of my shooting buddies knew him from time in the corps.  My shooting buddy was trying to get Travis Haley to come back out here for training about a year or so ago, but that would only have been for Mil only at K-bay.  The hope was that while he was here, he could do a handgun class at a private range we had lined up, but that fell through. 

I've taken a few classes with Jason Falla of Redback One and have been looking to get them out to Hawaii for a class.

Jason is itching to get to Hawaii to do a class, especially a LE and or Mil course. 

The closest I got was a friend who was building a private range on Kauai.  Last we spoke, they had a 30 yard range that they were using for pistol classes.  They were planning to expand to at least 100 yards with more with the intent to be able to do rifle classes, which is what I was interested in.  The plan/hope was to do a two-day handgun and two-day carbine.  They stalled in their plans for getting the rifle range opened and then I sort of lost touch with both.  I should the range friend back up and see what happened. 

So frustrating that we have so many people interested in this type of training and no facilities to accommodate, at least for the public.  I know of one ranch-type property on the north shore that we've shot at, but it's only suitable for handgun courses.  Another shooting friend had ideas to get Kyle Defoor or another group from Alias to come out, but again, lack of suitable range stopped those plants. 

This is mostly what you might find, in that they are private ranges where courses are brought in pretty much for a group of people they know.  lf you don't know them, you won't ever hear about it, but you can't fault that either.  Too bad there are not more public friendly ranges where you could do more "open enrollment" stuff so more people get opportunities.  The interest is there, just not the facility.  Paul H. had offered to do bookings for me when he first started Grey Group and he always asked about Hawaii.  Again we know the issue here, but we could easily book anyone from Alias or any number of companies if there was a facility.

Regarding Travis Haley, one of my shooting buddies knew him from time in the corps.  My shooting buddy was trying to get Travis Haley to come back out here for training about a year or so ago, but that would only have been for Mil only at K-bay.  The hope was that while he was here, he could do a handgun class at a private range we had lined up, but that fell through.

He would come, if you could get the logistics worked out.  The problem is that a lot of companies get frustrated when getting pinged about doing something in Hawaii and it doesn't pull through.  Even though, guys love to come here.  They often bring the wife or family if married and make it a working and family trip all in one, make money and write it off.  The single dudes all love the night life.  If you build it, they will come. 

Jason is itching to get to Hawaii to do a class, especially a LE and or Mil course. 
This is mostly what you might find, in that they are private ranges where courses are brought in pretty much for a group of people they know.  lf you don't know them, you won't ever hear about it, but you can't fault that either.  Too bad there are not more public friendly ranges where you could do more "open enrollment" stuff so more people get opportunities.  The interest is there, just not the facility.  Paul H. had offered to do bookings for me when he first started Grey Group and he always asked about Hawaii.  Again we know the issue here, but we could easily book anyone from Alias or any number of companies if there was a facility.
He would come, if you could get the logistics worked out.  The problem is that a lot of companies get frustrated when getting pinged about doing something in Hawaii and it doesn't pull through.  Even though, guys love to come here.  They often bring the wife or family if married and make it a working and family trip all in one, make money and write it off.  The single dudes all love the night life.  If you build it, they will come. 

I've kept in touch a little here and there with Jason.  I'll occasionally float something, but I try to get more realistic before I do because like you said, I'm sure he gets pinged with all sorts of "hey, how about a class in WayFarAway, US".  Haha.  The last I talked with him, we were trying to set something up for TCCC.  He does, or used to do it in combination with a shooting course, but was thinking if we could do it mostly class room that that would be more realistic.  I have a bunch of Army medic friends and more than a few EMS guys who were interested.

I've also gotten to know Jason's wife and business partner/manager through email and social media.  I know she wants to get something arranged out here for a family thing.  The classes I've taken with RB1 have all been in Alaska and I've been teasing those guys that they have to "endure" a class out here since they all had their chance to rib me about the "Hawaiian guy" freezing his ass off in their classes.   

Well, if I win millions and can buy a lot of land somewhere on Oahu, it will definitely include space for a shooting range.   

Curious if anybody offers middle and advanced shooting classes in hawaii?

Removed per request.

BTW a little bit of a sidetrack here, but how many of you guys would want to travel to the mainland to take classes?  Serious kine question here.

BTW a little bit of a sidetrack here, but how many of you guys would want to travel to the mainland to take classes?  Serious kine question here.

I'm always on the lookout for classes on the mainland. I haven't in the past 2 years, but I'm thinking about a couple of mainland courses later this year. Depends on how things line up, mostly money-wise. 

BTW a little bit of a sidetrack here, but how many of you guys would want to travel to the mainland to take classes?  Serious kine question here.

If the VA will approve my VR plan, I would gladly travel to the mainland whenever I could for the classes I need/want to take.

BTW a little bit of a sidetrack here, but how many of you guys would want to travel to the mainland to take classes?  Serious kine question here.

I'm traveling to Las Vegas for Front Sight this month and New Hampshire for the Sig Sauer Academy in April.

I've traveled to Washington for the Magpul precision rifle class and tried to get Magpul to come out to Hawaii. There was actually a lot of interest by both possible students and by Magpul but sadly no range to host 

https://www.surefireinstitute.com is in Las Vegas now, thinking about taking some of their classes this year.