QSI has a broad base of students and staff, some of whom are at high risk if infected with Covid-19. To minimize risk, we request that everyone adhere to these guidelines. If you have any questions of suggestions, please let us know!

Students who are sick WILL NOT be allowed to attend. If you are sick, or appear to be sick, you will be sent home and provided with a class slot on another date or a refund.

Sick means fever, coughing, sore throat or other symptoms.

SOCIAL DISTANCING

Participants must make every effort to maintain a social distance of 6 feet or more throughout the day. Consider this when staging gear, taking breaks, etc. Staging areas at the range will be modified to accommodate this.

As a social distancing measure students should not enter or walk through the Instructor’s Office area.

Brief (ie, walking past) near contact is acceptable but should be avoided.

Avoid touching each other and each other’s equipment.

MASKS

There are two kinds of masks:

SOURCE CONTROL masks prevent you from spreading disease to others. Cloth masks work for this.

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT (PPE) includes masks which are full seal and rated N95, that will protect the wearer from the virus.

In order to be effective, a mask must be worn over both the nose and the mouth.

Masks are not required but encouraged for situations where we might get closer than six feet. It is recommended you bring a mask and use it when necessary.

HYGIENE AND SANITATION

Participants should clean their hands frequently, particularly if they are touching a shared surface or shared equipment.

Bleach solution and paper towels will be provided for cleaning equipment.

If students bring their own sanitizer, that would be greatly appreciated. We will have some on hand but supplies are limited.

Gloves are not really useful and will actually spread disease if not used properly. We recommend frequent cleaning/washing of the hands instead of gloves.

WATER

It is recommended students bring their own water to avoid contamination from shared coolers.

We are committed to continuing to run classes as safely as possible. While we cannot eliminate risk, we can recognize risks and work within them to make smart choices.

We hope you can join us for a class this Summer!

As with everyone else, the Covid-19 outbreak has affected our business.

Here in Minnesota, we face multiple challenges – social distancing in classes where we traditionally interact closely with students, and the current “Stay At Home” order which has closed many gun ranges and required people to stay at home except for essential business.

We have currently cancelled all classes for March and April and re-scheduled some of them in May. We have a fall-back plan in place to re-schedule May classes into June as well.

It is our intent to run these classes as soon as we can! We are in the process of developing re-schedule dates for all of our classes if necessary.

If you are currently registered for a class, you will receive an email if re-scheduling is necessary. You will have the option of keeping your registration for the new date, transferring to another class, or receiving a refund.

Like every other small business, this plague has hit us hard. We greatly appreciate your patience and support through this tough time.

Due to new protective measures being put into place regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, we will will unfortunately have to cancel all scheduled Force on Force classes.

Students who have purchased FoF class slots will be credited or provided with a refund.

Our next scheduled class will be Defensive Handgun on April 25th in Forest Lake. With our live-fire classes being outdoors and relatively small in size, we plan to continue them as scheduled.

Thanks to everyone for their understanding. Stay safe and good health!

Erik and the QSI Crew

QSI’s Facebook page can be found here:

https://www.facebook.com/qsifirearms/

Quite a few people have asked me about Ayoob’s accidental discharge at a recent MAG40 class.

Short story: Ayoob wanted to demonstrate a trigger press to his students, so he borrowed a student’s pistol, by his own admission failed to clear it properly, and unintentionally fired a shot into the air.

Ayoob wrote about this on his blog, if you haven’t heard about it:
https://www.backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/layers-of-firearms-safety-a-teachable-moment/

Another point of view, from the sponsoring instructor:
https://safetysolutionsacademy.com/lessons-from-a-negligent-discharge-at-mag-40/

To be honest, I this incident is more a case of “lessons reinforced” than “lessons learned”. My takeaways:

“Safe” Direction – In our classes we insist that any gun handling be done on the firing line, with the gun pointed down range or towards the ground. I’ll admit I’ve occasionally done this demonstration in the past – holding up the gun with the muzzle skyward – so students can see what I am doing. I am going to correct that and change how we demonstrate this.

Unnecessary gun handling – We always insist that guns are only handled on the firing line, and minimize the use of live firearms in demonstrations that don’t involve shooting. Could this demonstration (placement of the trigger finger and trigger press) been done just as easily with a SIRT pistol?

Demonstrating using student guns – Yep, I’ve done this too, while demonstrating “catching the link”, but people who’ve attended multiple classes may have noticed – I always pick a Glock, if there is one, so I have a gun I’m familiar with; I always check and dry-fire the gun before demonstrating; When demonstrating I aim the gun downrange.

Feel, don’t look – When checking to see if a gun is unloaded, you must always feel for a round, not just look for one. We train ourselves to see an unloaded chamber, and after thousands of reps we will look right at a round and not see it.

Dry-Fire to verify after unloading/clearing – The last step in our unload/clearing procedure is deliberate dry-fire in a safe direction. This incident is a good example of why we do it – if you are going to have an accident, do it under situations you control.

Bystander Effect – EVERYONE on a range is responsible for safety. It doesn’t matter who is making a mistake, if you see it, you need to say something. We empower and expect our students to call out safety issues by anyone – even the instructors.

Familiarity – In the USA, typically only lion tamers are attacked by lions. If we are going to spend a lot of time around guns, we have to always be vigilant about careful and responsible gun handling.

Distratction/Exhaustion – The incident occurred during the fourth day of a very demanding class. Pushing the envelope to prepare for a fight is important, but when people on the range are getting punchy, you need to slow down and take breaks.

“Cold” Ranges – Cold ranges are nonsense.  They teach people to assume guns are unloaded instead of loaded and the idea that unloaded guns are somehow safer than loaded guns confuses our students.  All of our ranges are run 100% hot, and we’ve never had an AD.

No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done in the past, EVERY SINGLE TIME you handle a gun, you need to do it carefully and responsibly.

OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER:

I wasn’t there and didn’t see this happen.

Massad Ayoob’s professional contributions to this Art are above reproach and I have nothing but respect for the man.

I don’t feel uncomfortable sharing my thoughts because I am certain that Mas is thinking the same things.

Random thoughts on workplace carry policies and civil liability.   Fears of “liability” are usually invoked in defense of gun-free zones, but do these policies really protect the business from liability?

SCENARIO ONE:

Your workplace allows people with permits to carry. A disturbed individual enters the workplace and kills several employees and visitors.

What is your liability?

SCENARIO TWO:

You have an employee who is law abiding with a clean criminal record. Maybe they have a police and military background, maybe they don’t.

They have a permit to carry and disclose this to you. Consistent with policy, they are told they cannot carry at work, and may be disciplined or fired if they do. They comply with this policy.

A disturbed individual enters the workplace and kills several employees and visitors.

What is your liability?

SCENARIO THREE:

You have an employee who is law abiding, clean criminal record. Maybe they have a police and military background, maybe they don’t. This person has a permit to carry.

Previously your workplace had either no policy on carrying, or a policy which allowed employees to carry at work.

However, there have been recent changes at the company and now carrying at work is prohibited. Employees are informed of the change and that they can be disciplined or fired for carrying at work.  Your employee complies with the policy and stops carrying at work.

A disturbed individual enters the workplace and kills several employees and visitors.

What is your liability?

SCENARIO FOUR:

You have an employee who is law abiding, clean criminal record. Maybe they have a police and military background. This person has a permit to carry.

They have a permit to carry and disclose this to you. Policy allows them to carry at work and you inform them of this.

A disturbed individual enters the workplace attempts to committ several murders. Your employee draws their gun and stops the attack, saving the lives of several employees and visitors.

What is your liability?

QSI and One Defense have teamed up to host John and Vicki Farnam

This coming July 7-8, 2018, One Defense and QSI Training will host legendary trainers John and Vicki Farnam in Morristown, Minnesota. We have partnered for two courses that will cater to the needs expressed by our students.

John will be teaching Armed Response to a Terrorist Attack and Vicki will be teaching Defensive Handgun for Women.

For more information or to register online click HERE.

We’ve added our popular Multi-Class Discounts again!

You can save up to $50 on three classes with our Three-Pack.

Our best value is our Five-Pack, which saves up to $150.  That’s like getting a free class!

Any discounts paid for in 2017 may be used until the end of 2018.

To sign up, click here.