AAR Run the Gun – Rifle May 22-23, 2021

If you choose to use one of today’s sporting rifles as a primary defense weapon then you shouldn’t even hesitate about taking this course. Steve does a spectacular job of explaining the ergonomics associated with this man and machine interface so all of your operational manipulations can be as efficient as possible.

After learning the why and getting comfortable through dry runs, your new skills are always reinforced through repeated live fire exercises. The team at CTG struck a great balance between verbal instruction and range time taking into account today’s high ammo prices. Run the Gun is the foundation for creating good habits through best practices, so practice that “least waste way” as often as you can.

Rifle class is no-nonsense training that will help you to react correctly under stress and Run your Gun when it matters most.

Steve teaches you how to stay in the Fight and keep your Focus on the threat under duress. Don’t take your eyes off the threat or you lose the ground you own. Drop your eyes or lose your focus and you lose that ground and have to retake it.

You think 5 or more shots in the 6″ circle from the “low ready” while also manipulating your safety in 5 seconds is easy? Try it sometime. Then try 10 in 5 seconds…Preferably with him, he will teach how to be successful in doing that.
Then you move back to 10 yards and do it again. During that, you are also performing all the Reload drills because you may run dry or know that you won’t make the next string with whats left in your Mag while the Timer is running. (or have a double feed like me).

You think the distance we started at is unrealistic? As I recall the distance for the average Rifle engagement Steve and Paul mentioned was under 45 Yards. That 25 yard Zero and the Holdover Training was very valuable. You aren’t “sniping” at that distance, you are engaging with your eyes as rapidly as you can.

During all this, Steve and Paul are working the Line with instruction and suggestions to improve. There is a whole lot going on during this Training but they will stop it with a “Safe and Hang” to make points throughout.

You think your rifle will lock in a fully loaded 30 rd mag with a closed bolt? You might need to check that, you may be surprised. The training covered that. I saw some pretty high end build AR’s fail that test with Pmags and GI to.

I really enjoyed the Balloon and 2 inch sticky note drill, you need to attend so you can find out what that was.

I am already using what I learned to put together a dedicated AR for serious business. It’s not what I thought it would be either.

Oh, and you folks who are “on the Fence” about getting this type of Training? Jump off that fence and learn how to really “Run” that Gun. It’s worth your time and Money I assure you.

I went thru a Cerberus Training Group rifle training class with Steve and crew. The class challenged us, with the goal of at the end of the weekend that we would be far more proficient with the rifle, and that goal was met. The instruction was very sharp, professional, and the knowledge, written material, and experiences that were passed on from instructors to students really separated this training group from many other classes that charge much more, and safety was maintained thru out the 2 days we were there.

Saying that, for the money you will not find another training class that will teach you more about running an AR15 rifle.

Whatever your skill level Steve can put together a class that will further your abilities with a rifle/pistol etc. To say I am very satisfied with the class is not saying enough, as we’re already planning another trip here soon. So, if you’re after high quality, real world training at a very economical price give Steve a call.

Allow me to cut to the chase: Cerberus Training Group’s Run the Gun courses are hands-down the best training I’ve taken for years. These courses were transformative to me, providing the single-biggest leap forward in skill and comfort that I’ve had in nearly 10 years. Steve (the owner) first reviews the fundamentals of the firearm, platform (stance), grip, and operations and then rockets you through drill after drill to force you to assemble all the fundamentals into a more cohesive whole. And then he adds a timer to simulate increased pressure, which also highlights weaknesses in the fundamentals. And then he walks you back further and further away from the target, forcing you to slow down and get it right.

While Steve calls this a “Basic” course, it is anything but “Beginner.” I’ve been shooting for years, and I’m an NRA pistol instructor, teaching two classes per month. I almost didn’t take the class for fear it would be remedial. I was so wrong. This course is applicable to everyone from the casual yet competent shooter to the advanced shooter. In fact, Steve teaches a longer version of this course to law enforcement officers in preparation for entry into an extensive SWAT training program. The only audience I don’t believe this course is appropriate for is someone just brand new to a pistol or rifle. They need a basic NRA course before attending this one, as this course is faster paced and requires familiarity with the platform.

Steve teaches from a foundation of efficiency and field-tested methods. He explains WHY you do something, and then tells you how to do it better. And he gives you a third way, and lets you choose what works best for you. I learned so many things that were, “Wow! That’s way better than the way I do it!”

One of the things that I’m most impressed with is Steve himself. I’ve seen so many instructors in the firearms world who are complete and total a$$holes, intent upon forcing their superiority onto their subjects. Steve is 180 degrees opposite. He is committed to helping students learn; he’ll stop and explain why he does something. If an instruction doesn’t work, he’ll find a way to adapt it to meet your needs. He’ll acknowledge when he doesn’t know something, and if someone has a better idea he’ll study it and make it his.

I’ve cancelled all my training plans for the next year and will be taking all programs that Steve offers going forward. You should too.

My buddy and I just got back from the 1911 Armorer/Operator class at Cerberus, and figured I’d share my experience. This was a 2 day class, though based on the things taught, could have easily been longer!

The first day was the Armorer portion. We spent a solid 8 hours with a 1911 and inspecting, smoothing, filing, and lubing everything. Steve (the instructor) is incredibly knowledgeable on the platform, and the result was a massive improvement in my understanding of how a 1911 works!

Additionally, I ended up getting a fantastic amount of instruction and assistance on how to adjust just about everything in the gun. Included in this is a pretty fantastic trigger job, extractor tuning, and barrel timing. I brought an old Rock Island 1911 and a 80% build that I’d completed and both firearms ended up being 2x as great when I left! If you have any interest in a better running 1911 (and the understanding of how to do it), this is definitely a class for you!

Day 2 was a ‘run the gun’ component on the range. The class was customized to my friend and I, so it ended up being a ‘combat’ focused shooting day. We concentrated on drawing from a holster, fast reloading, and accurate, fast shooting. While it sounds pretty basic, the constant feedback from Steve as well as the practice drills improved my comfort and performance throughout the techniques.

I’ve been shooting quite regularly for 15 years and ended up being a significantly better shooter than I started out as. I left with many drills that I can run on my own, which I also believe will be of great benefit to me!

In the end, I am a much better shooter than I was before. I understand my platform much better, and left with the ability to tune and diagnose it way better than before. I look forward to getting back out to learn even more from Steve!

Steve and I were discussing his different training classes a few months ago, and he invited me out just to run through some things so he could see where I am at and how he teaches. What I thought would be a few hours of general plinking turned into 6 hours of intense 1:1 instruction, for which I will be forever grateful because I could never afford something like that.

In short, just go take the freaking class. I don’t think any of you have shot with me, but I am a pretty good shot compared to the general public, like usually the best shot at the public range or class I take, and thought I was pretty good at “running the gun” compared to other people. But man, you don’t know what you don’t know.

Following is a list of Big takeaways for me, non-inclusive of everything covered:

Form:

Both rifle and handgun I was pretty hunched over. Relying on strength to much to keep everything flat. Steve got me to relax and find a posture that helped keep the gun flat during recoil, but didn’t block my peripheral vision or tire myself out.

Draw:

Herky Jerky fast mess of ripping my gun out of its holster and throwing it in front of me like a softball pitch, to a deliberate efficient stroke. Not done yet by any means, but i know what to work on now.

Transitions:

Rifle to pistol, similar to the draw, I thought I knew basics here, but had to shave away inefficiencies.

Grip:

Corrected. Presented good theories on leveraging on the grip to prevent muzzle flip. I had watched a lot of videos and can shoot good fast groups, was was pulling some shots left. Corrected.

Covered all the fundamentals, which I think I knew a good portion of, but confirmed some things I was already doing that I thought were “wrong” that work well for me.

Overall just a good realistic instruction method based on real world experience, as well as a pleasant person to hang out with. My only complaint is that he lives too far away from me!

Family took the Pistol/Rifle Combo day course from Steve. We all have a wide variety of experience shooting both platforms and we all picked up additional skills to make us better. We’re excited to have such a quality resource near to where we live. I highly recommend training with Steve.

I had the privilege of going through a custom formulated class for our shooting group focusing on the AR-15 platform by the owner of Cerberus Training Group. I have been shooting since I was a kid and have family previously in the LE and the Military providing for some good experiences to sit in on various kinds of training. In addition to that I’ve watched tons of training on PDN and online to pick up what I can. Over the years I have done a lot of different kind of shooting from USPSA, falling plate match’s and eventually having been a Range Officer at two different ranges shooting weekly.

At the end of the day I have not seen a better presented more well rounded training program as a whole. Starting with the basics, they help correct bad habits, build on your foundation and have no problem cutting out the mis-taught nonsense even some of the other big names get caught up in. Most important to me, Steve and his staff have serious and extensive real life experience using the skills and techniques that they are now teaching. (Not to mention Steve’s extensive knowledge on bullet ballistics.) The training, staff and atmosphere is top notch and unfortunately for other training programs out there the quality and prices with Cerberus Training Group can’t be beat. Look forward to coming back soon and truly appreciate what they are offering at the price they are offering it.

I have always felt I was wasting time whenever I’d go out shooting because all I was doing was reinforcing whatever (mostly bad/inefficient) habits I’ve learned.

I can only learn so much from reading and watching videos or from other experienced shooters. But to learn from a professional instructor for a ridiculous price of $250 for a 2-day course that wasn’t some watered down civilian crap? Hell yeah.

For the class, Steve focused on what we wanted out of it. I am a big supporter of learning the fundamentals to build that strong root and the first day was a lot of what I recall as dry weapons work. Re-learning the what low ready is, “customer service”, malfunction handling, and economy of motion. The key was to get comfortable with what was in your hands; and focus on what’s out there in front of you. “Painfully slow” was the theme of the day. Technique, and muscle memory building was the goal, corrections were made constantly to waste no effort nor expose anything unnecessary.

What I appreciated was the anecdotes provided throughout the weekend by Steve and Mark on why we did something or how it helped. Another helpful thing was that I got a chance to learn my equipment and what was working and what needed to change. Goodbye angled grips.

Something that Steve wanted for Cerberus Training Group was to have a local, affordable instruction that didn’t start and end with the class. As I mentioned he is very customer centric and he made it clear that if we ever need help or a reminder that he is a call or text away. He has already proven that he cares about the student.

By the end of the second day which was much quicker pace, things were definitely becoming muscle memory, and confidence in running my gun efficiently was at a level it wasn’t at before. We did get a taste of shooting around an obstacle at the end of the course and it was during that exercise I finally called it quits – mind and body had enough.

I find myself excited to go out and shoot with a purpose, and when I am comfortable I’ll be back to Run the Gun with a pistol. Once I am ready and comfortable with that, I’ll be back to tie it together in the 3-day S.A.T. course.

This class was a general class that was open to the public taught by the owner, Steve Shields. It was taught on Cerberus private range. The range was located a short drive from town which had a few decent budget lodging options. I would recommend The Quality Inn.
I arrived a day early and met up with Steve the evening prior. He advised me that the other students who had signed up for the class had cancelled a few days earlier, meaning that I was going to be the only student. I was immediately impressed that Steve did not cancel the class with only one student !

My Training background is I have over 5,000 hours of formal weapons training, recently retired from the public sector, and now have time to take some classes. I have taught firearms off and on for 10 years.

I enjoy taking basic classes from different schools when I can and I very much enjoyed this class and working with Steve.

What the ” Run the Gun ” 2 day class is NOT is rolling around in the dirt and running around cars and missing all your shots. There are plenty of schools for that. I have been to a lot of them and watched students flounder and miss and miss etc…

While I do believe that it has a lot of importance, many times students from both sides of the fence, civilian and LEO, just do not have the basic skill set to get the hits under some time pressure standing still. This is where Run the Gun really stands out .

Once the intro, safety and basic are covered we worked on times pressure getting hits on a 6 inch size plate at different ranges. I did not believe we would shoot close to 500 rounds a day but we were close !

Steve is a outstanding instructor. He has the ability to tailor a class to the level of a student that shows up to his class, that is a skill that is not easy to find these days .

I am hoping to get back to do some more private training with Steve before summer is over . I would highly recommend Cerberus Training Group.

Jeannie and I took the Run the Gun Pistol class. This was my first formal training class and just one more of several for Jeannie. Steve does a good job of teaching without preaching and we were both really happy with the improvements in our shooting as the result of his coaching. The primary focus of the class is to get to the point where you can use your equipment without thinking about it and he does a good job of teaching that.

I really appreciated Steve’s practical approach to running the range and class. As he became more confident in our competence we were given more latitude in how we performed the drills. We were allowed to modify the drills and focus on others to suit what we wanted to get out of the class. This reflects his approach to student-driven classes.

You will find some of the lessons to be contradictory to what you may have gotten from other classes, but I found his straight-forward approach to the realities of shooting to be very practical. If you have been to other classes, keep an open mind and try something new. He will tell you why he teaches his methods, and they worked well for us.

I liked that he is very open to whatever equipment you want to work with. He will critique it for you if you ask, but will work with you to make it as good for you as it can be, as long as it doesn’t create safety issues…you are good to go.

The short version is that we had a good time, learned a lot, got a lot better as shooters, met good people, and feel motivated to practice more and pursue further training.

I went to the pistol/rifle combo training and I’m impressed. Steve is very knowledgeable and passionate teacher. Through the class Steve will teach you how to become more comfortable and efficient with your firearm. He will not criticize your gear unless he sees it causing a safety or problems with gun manipulation etc. Or if you ask him his opinion on your gear. So DON’T be butt hurt it is for your own good!!!

Before class, I was self taught through reading and watching videos and thought that I knew how to use and manipulate my firearms efficiently. But after class, which had enormous information/hands on training, I now know that my knowledge was as much as a couch commando.

Great class, highly recommended.

Steve takes a very pragmatic approach to gun handling, aka: running the gun. Nothing to be mastered in a single day, but lessons learned that can be taken away and practiced to develop the subconscious.

Learn the steps, practice the steps, drill, repeat as necessary.

Getting a good look at the areas I need to focus on (pretty much all of them) was worth every penny and then some… top-notch “customer service”

I did the “Run the gun” for pistols yesterday. I really want to thank Steve at Cerberus Group for a fantastic class. It definitely showed me my short comings and equipped me to fix them. I would recommend to everyone to take a class with Steve. Don’t think you’re not good enough or this is below your skill. It will challenge and build you up whatever your skill level. I am looking forward to improving myself and to take the full two day pistol class next year.

I had the opportunity of taking a 2 day rifle course with Steve and crew.

Excellent environment, attention to safety and overall a good time.

The years of experience between Steve and his crew are incredible which really solidifies the education offered. The knowledge they offer is built from years of practical use of the rifle platform. No fuss, no trends, just what works. I learned so much in one day and the value received is great.

I can’t wait to take a pistol class soon.

I attended the Combination Rifle/Pistol “Run The Gun” class with Cerberus

Steve is VERY knowledgeable having served in Law Enforcement for more than 20 years, including as a Trainer, and having survived multiple “real world” gun fights.

He uses his experience to help students develop the skills required to react quickly and efficiently when it counts. We began with basic drills to 1) understand how to overcome current bad habits, and 2) how to put shots on target quickly, efficiently, and under stress.

I learned many new skills and techniques that I will be practicing (eyes on target, bring the sights to your eyes, proper draw and target acquisition, tactical reloads, and many more). I also uncovered several weaknesses in my equipment and myself, that I will be working to address.

I was quite satisfied with the course, Steve’s instruction, and my performance. I was FAR from perfect, and was there to learn and grow – and I did!

I drove over 3 hours each way, and paid for a night in a motel for the class, and it was worth it.

I hope to attend some future classes with Cerberus as well.