Intermediate Handgun (MoD.Handgun.2)—October 18, 2025

Summary

Intermediate Handgun (MoD.Handgun.2) is southwest Idaho’s safe, methodical introduction to use of a holster.  Statistically speaking, drawing and re-holstering a firearm introduce heightened risk of serious injury, most often through improper technique or faulty equipment.  Let Ministry of Defense guide you through this critical waypoint in your handgun training.

As a result of our proven methods and practical approach, you will find yourself in a completely re-imagined world of skill at arms.  It’s tough to find an analogy, but moving from bench shooting to a holster is something like taking off your training wheels and then your bicycle turns into a rocket ship.

And along with your newfound holster competence, you will also accelerate your gun handling, expand your shooting fundamentals, and hard-wire some new and essential applications of the safety rules.

Class duration will be approximately five hours.

Suffice it to say, we think someday you will look back on this class and observe, fondly, “that holster class with Ministry of Defense is where it all began.”

Prerequisites

• Pass MoD.Handgun.1; or Instructor permission

Topics

• The holster (including gun belt and magazine pouches)—this is the key element of this class
• Follow-up shots: how to rapidly fire accurate multi-shot strings
• Target transitions: how to shift your point of aim from one target to another
• The defensive approach to shooting

Venue

• Outdoor range

What to bring

• Your handgun.  This class is strongly geared toward semi-automatics with a magazine capacity of 10 rounds or more.
• At least three magazines.  More if your magazines hold fewer than 10 rounds.
• A good gun belt.  That belt from the department store is not a gun belt, and is not up to the task.  But don’t worry: we like the ratcheting belts from Kore Essentials so well that we became the Boise area’s exclusive dealer.  We’ll be adding their products to our online inventory for a little while, but you can contact us and we’ll promptly tell you what we currently have in stock.  We’ll even custom-size the belt for you for a perfect fit!
• A good outside-the-waistband (“OWB”) holster.  (We will probably do a video on this topic soon.)  Some traits of a good holster are…
  • Made of fairly rigid materials—commonly Kydex, Boltaron, polymer, or high-grade leather
  • Covers the entire trigger guard
  • Stays open for one-handed re-holstering
  • Made specifically for your your firearm; one-size-fits-all holsters are, in practice, one-size-fits-none.
  • NO BLACKHAWK SERPA HOLSTERS!
• A good double-magazine pouch, or two singles.  We love the pouches from Idaho-based company, Gunfighters, Inc.
• About 300 rounds of new, factory-sourced practice ammunition.  We like to order in bulk from SG Ammo.
  • For safety reasons, we do not permit use of hand-loaded or re-loaded ammunition.
  • Steel-core ammo damages our range equipment, and is not permitted for use.
• 20-25 rounds of your chosen defensive ammunition (hollow-points, such as Federal HST, Speer Gold Dot, Hornady Critical Duty, etc.).
• Electronic ear protection.  The microphones and built-in speakers protect your hearing while also allowing you to hear range commands and conversation.  If you don’t have your own, don’t worry—we have FREE loaners!
• Safety glasses.  ANSI rated, impact-resistant glasses of the kind you might find at a hardware store are a good place to start.  If you don’t have eye protection, don’t worry—we have FREE loaners!
• Approximately $15 for range fees, payable directly to the range (when applicable).

Class Policies

• All adult MoD students must submit a photo of their current driver’s license or other state or federal ID prior to training.  This is used for class security and our own record-keeping.
• Each class session must reach an enrollment “tipping point” in order to proceed as planned.  For MoD.Handgun.2, that likely means we need at least six students.  In the event that the tipping point is not reached for a class you have enrolled in, we will contact you to discuss options.
• For medical reasons, we elect not allow pregnant women to participate in our live-fire exercises.