To be clear, I think the class is worth the sale price of $70+$50+ammo. I live on the far side of Clark County from Nye County (where Front Sight is located), but I was fortunate to have friends that live in Pahrump so I had a free room. Most of you will probably have to figure that in as well.
I HIGHLY recommend taking the class in April or October. I took mine in October. Not too hot, not too cold. I was JUST right. The pistol ranges have a lot more shade than the rifle ranges though, so it's not as critical.
The following is from the experiences of a rifle class, but most will transfer to how they conduct their pistol classes as well. The lectures are in a common area taught to all students at the same time.
I would have preferred to shoot the class with my M1A SOCOM carbine with Leupold Scout Scope. This is my primary SHTF rifle and would have excelled in this class. But with 500 rounds of factory ammo ($) needed, I opted to use my Armalite AR15A4 service rifle with its Leupold Mark AR scope. The other advantage of an AR is that you are timed in clearing malfunctions and the AR's magazine is easier to use.
BTW, my team (3) won the shoot-off at the end of the class (46 students in our section.) I engaged the hostage-taker first (head shot), then my team took out the other two targets. Don't blink, or you'll miss it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ofV_io9B2M&feature=channel_video_title
With the OP's permission then, here is the appropriate excerpt from the actual review that I emailed back to Front Sight after my class:
Overall, I am very happy with the instruction I received and its
practical value. I look forward to an opportunity to take another
class in the future.
The lectures were outstanding. Wes' experiences (good and sad ones)
were very motivating and well used. You are fortunate to have him on
your team.
There was quite a variety of appearances between instructors. I would
say that I was actually taken aback by some that appeared disheveled,
including my instructor Cannon with an unkempt beard to match the
sloppy uniform that many of the instructors had. However, I must say
that as soon as Cannon got started, I liked him. He was very good
with the details between rifles (though he needs to learn the manual
of arms for a Marlin Model 336; honestly, though, MOST owners of
lever-action rifles don't know the best way to load them). His crew
was very good, though Instructor Gass (the older gentlemen) needs some
reminders to stay away from the drill instructor attitude. At times,
I felt sorry for some of the guys and gals that had his attention.
The course could use more shooting time. For the expense of these
courses, there were too many students, requiring us to wait long
periods while the other guys were shooting.
Also, while I understand this is a Practical Rifle course, if you are
going to let us shoot at 400 yards, let us do more of it. Instructor
Gass would only let us shoot until we hit. Everyone else got to shoot
at least five rounds. There were many of us in his line that only got
to fire 2 or 3 rounds, after all that time and effort to move to the
400-yard line and wait our turn.