Rifle Training in Palm Beach County and Broward County
Two Courses, From First Trigger Pull to Shooting on the Move
Most rifles in South Florida houses get shot twice a year at an indoor lane, standing still, at a paper target twenty five yards away. That is not training. That is confirming the gun still works.
We run rifle instruction at two levels. Rifle Fundamentals is where you learn to run the thing properly, at whichever of our six ranges is closest to you. Defensive Rifle is where you find out how those fundamentals hold up when you have to move, use cover, and shoot under a clock, at our private outdoor range in Okeechobee.
Start wherever you actually are. Nobody gets talked down to, and nobody gets thrown into something they are not ready for.
Or call or text Mike at 561-213-2974
Which Course Do You Need?
The dividing line is not how long you have owned the rifle. It is whether you can run it without thinking about it.
Start with Rifle Fundamentals if you have never taken formal rifle instruction, you are not sure your zero is correct, you have never cleared a malfunction under any pressure, or you bought the rifle and it has mostly sat since.
Go straight to Defensive Rifle if you can load, unload, and clear a malfunction without looking at your hands, your zero is confirmed, and you are comfortable running the rifle at speed on a static line.
Bringing people with you brings the price down. Two shooters are $100 each and three or more are $75 each for Rifle Fundamentals, which is the cheapest structured rifle instruction available in Palm Beach or Broward.
Not sure? Call 561-213-2974. Two minutes on the phone answers it. Most people who are unsure belong in Fundamentals, and there is no shame in that. It is where the shooters who are good got good.
Rifle Fundamentals
Private or Small Group at Any of Our Six Ranges
This is the course for the rifle that has been in the closet since you bought it.
You will learn to run it the way it is meant to be run. How to hold it so recoil goes where it should. How to get a consistent cheek weld so your sights mean something. How to load, unload, and clear a malfunction without stopping to think. How to confirm your zero, which most rifle owners have never actually done.
It runs as a private lesson at $125 per hour, so you book the time you want rather than a fixed block.
If you would rather train with people you know in a group, the price drops. Two shooters are $100 each for a one hour session. Three or more are $75 each. Bring your spouse, your adult kids, or the three guys who all bought ARs the same year and have all been meaning to do this.
You pick the range. Whichever of the six is closest to where you live.
What Fundamentals Covers
- Rifle safety and the four rules as they apply to a long gun
- Stance, grip, and cheek weld
- Sight picture with irons or with an optic, whichever you run
- Zero confirmation at distance
- Loading, unloading, and administrative handling
- Malfunction clearing, worked until it is automatic
- Sling setup and use
- Cleaning and storage, so the rifle is ready the next time you need it
Who Fundamentals Is For
- First time rifle owners who have never had formal instruction
- People who inherited a rifle and are not sure what they have
- Pistol shooters adding a long gun
- Anyone whose rifle experience is limited to a few boxes at an indoor lane
- Couples or family members who want to train together
What to Bring
Your rifle if you own one. If not, you’re welcome to use one of ours. Bring a sling and at least three magazines. Ammunition can be brought or purchased at the range, and 100 to 150 rounds covers most sessions. Closed toe shoes and a shirt with a high neckline, because hot brass finds low collars. Eye and ear protection are provided at no charge.
Or call or text Mike at 561-213-2974
Defensive Rifle
Three Hours at Our Private Outdoor Range in Okeechobee
Everything you learned standing still gets tested here.
You will move. You will shoot from behind a vehicle, through a barricade port, and around a corner. You will engage targets at different distances and angles, transition between them, and run drills on a clock until your heart rate is somewhere it has never been while holding a rifle.
Some of it will not go the way you expect. That is the point. Finding out where your skills break down on a range in Okeechobee is considerably better than finding out at home at three in the morning.
$150 per person for three hours as a group course, with a minimum of four shooters. If you would rather run it one on one, it is available as a private session at $125 per hour.
What Defensive Rifle Covers
- Shooting on the move, advancing, retreating, and laterally
- Cover and concealment with a long gun, which is not the same as with a pistol
- Working barricades and ports at awkward heights
- Shooting around, over, and through vehicles
- Target transitions at varying distances and angles
- Close quarters rifle work in hallways, doorways, and corners
- Malfunction clearing under time pressure
- Stress drills that reveal what actually holds up
Who Defensive Rifle Is For
- Rifle owners who are competent standing still and know that is not the same as being trained
- Home defense focused owners who have a plan built around a rifle they have never moved with
- Protector Course graduates who want the same work with a long gun
- Hunters moving into defensive shooting
- Anyone who has outgrown what an indoor lane will let them do
Required Gear
Your own rifle, a sling, and three magazines minimum. Plan on 200 to 300 rounds. You may use one of ours but bringing your own is strongly preferred for this course, since the point is training with the rifle that is actually in your house. Closed toe shoes, high neckline, water, and something to eat. Three hours outdoors in Okeechobee is longer than it sounds.
Why Defensive Rifle Only Runs in Okeechobee
Indoor ranges cannot host this course, and that is not a marketing line. Most prohibit drawing, movement, rapid fire, and shooting at anything other than a target directly downrange. Defensive rifle work requires all four.
Our range in Okeechobee is 1.25 acres with a wrap around berm, which gives us safety clearances no indoor lane can offer.
- Three full size training vehicles. Shooting around, over, and through a car is nothing like shooting from a bench, and almost nobody has done it.
- VTAC barricades. For working ports at different heights and in positions you would not choose.
- A full obstacle course. Movement under load changes how you shoot more than people expect.
- Steel and paper at varied distances. Targets at angles rather than in a row.
- Nobody else on the property. No cold line every four minutes, no range officer stopping you mid-drill.
It is a drive from Palm Beach or Broward. Everyone who makes it says the same thing on the way out, which is that no indoor lane was ever going to teach them this.
Questions Rifle Owners in Florida Actually Ask
Three things come up constantly, and they are worth addressing before you book rather than after.
Is an AR-15 a reasonable home defense choice? It is a defensible one. A rifle is easier to shoot accurately than a handgun, easier to control, and easier to run under stress once you are trained. The tradeoffs are length in tight spaces and noise indoors, which is not a small consideration in a South Florida house at three in the morning. Both courses address how to work around them.
What about overpenetration? The common assumption is that a rifle round is the worst option through drywall. Published testing has repeatedly shown that common defensive rifle ammunition often penetrates less through interior walls than typical handgun rounds, because lightweight rifle bullets tend to fragment or destabilize on impact. Ammunition selection matters more than caliber, and it is worth understanding rather than guessing at.
Does a pistol caliber carbine count? For both courses, yes. Bring what you own. The manual of arms differs slightly and every drill still applies.
Neither course requires a specific rifle, a specific optic, or a specific setup. Bring what is in your house.
Where We Train
Rifle Fundamentals runs at whichever range is closest to you. Defensive Rifle runs in Okeechobee only.
- Palm Beach Shooting Center, Lake Worth. Easiest for Lake Worth Beach, Boynton Beach, Wellington, West Palm Beach, and Royal Palm Beach.
- Shoot Straight, West Palm Beach. The largest indoor range in the area. Best for West Palm Beach, Riviera Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, and Jupiter.
- Gun World of South Florida, Deerfield Beach. Convenient for Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and northern Broward County.
- Declaration Defense, Pompano Beach. Closest for Coral Springs, Margate, Tamarac, and Fort Lauderdale.
- Our private outdoor range, Boynton Beach. Three bays with nobody else in your space.
- Our private outdoor range, Okeechobee. 1.25 acres with training vehicles, steel, barricades, and a wrap-around berm. The only location for Defensive Rifle.
Range fees are paid directly to the range. Tell us where you are coming from and we will put you at the closest one.
Who You Are Training With
Mike Kneuer has spent twenty-two years around firearms and the last several teaching other people how to run them properly. He competes in USPSA, constantly furthers his education by taking other top level instructors’ courses, and has put thousands of hours in with students ranging from people who had never touched a gun to experienced shooters with habits they could not see.
Rifles are where the gap between owning and knowing tends to be widest. Most people who bring an AR to a range have shot it standing still at a target twenty five yards away and have never confirmed a zero, cleared a malfunction under any pressure, or fired a shot from anywhere other than a bench. That is not a criticism. It is just what happens when the only place you can practice is a lane that will not let you move.
A certification is a starting point, not an achievement. It means someone passed a course, and it says nothing about the years since. What Mike brings to your session is a working knowledge of what actually goes wrong for rifle shooters and how to fix it.
He does not lecture and he does not perform. Most of the session is you shooting and him watching, with short corrections between strings. If your rifle handling works, he leaves it alone. If it does not, he tells you plainly and shows you the fix. Nobody gets yelled at and nobody gets talked down to.
What Students Say
“The outdoor gun range in Okeechobee, FL is private and set up specifically for real-world drills. Mike, an NRA-certified instructor, was patient and clear, walking me through safety, movement, and handling under stress. It wasn’t just standing still and aiming at paper; we practiced skills that actually translate to self-defense situations.”
-Paul W.
“I am so fortunate to have found the Suburban Protector, Mike is everything you want in an instructor when learning firearm safety, to advance shooting. The range allows for training for any level of training someone may need; from working on accuracy to shooting on the move at different targets in different angles— all sorts of stuff you would never be able to do at a regular shooting range.”
-Felipe P.
“Training with Big Mike was an incredible experience! I started off as a complete amateur and walked out feeling like a pro shooter. His patience, knowledge, and hands-on guidance helped me feel confident, safe, and fully capable of handling a firearm.”
-Joyce W.
Common Questions About Rifle Training
Rifle Fundamentals teaches you to run the rifle correctly, standing still, at whichever range is closest to you. Defensive Rifle tests those skills with movement, cover, vehicles, and time pressure at our Okeechobee range. Fundamentals is where you build the skill. Defensive is where you find out whether it holds.
Rifle Fundamentals is $125 per hour one on one. As a group it is $100 per person for two shooters, or $75 per person for three or more, for a one hour session. Defensive Rifle is $150 per person for three hours as a group course with a minimum of four shooters, or $125 per hour privately. Ammunition is separate.
Considerably. A private hour of Rifle Fundamentals is $125. Bring two friends and it drops to $75 each. Most people who book the group rate are training with family or with the people they would actually be defending a house alongside, which is a better reason than the price anyway.
No. It is built for people who have never had formal rifle instruction, including people who have never fired a rifle at all.
Not formally. But if you cannot clear a malfunction without looking at your hands, start with Fundamentals. Defensive Rifle assumes you can run the gun already, and the three hours get spent on movement rather than on basics.
An AR-15 or similar semi-automatic rifle, or a pistol caliber carbine. Nothing exotic is required and no particular optic is required. Iron sights are fine.
For Fundamentals, 100 to 150 depending on how long you book. For Defensive Rifle, plan on 200 to 300, since the drills involve movement and transitions rather than slow fire at one target.
Because no indoor range in South Florida permits the movement, cover work, and rapid fire the course requires. Our Okeechobee range is 1.25 acres with a wrap-around berm and the safety clearances to run it properly.
Roughly an hour and a half from most of Palm Beach County, longer from Broward. It is a real drive. It is also the reason the course is possible at all.
Defensive Rifle runs with a minimum of four shooters and a maximum of ten. Rifle Fundamentals groups are smaller, since it is an hour of hands-on correction. Either way, small enough that you get individual attention rather than standing in line waiting for a turn.
Yes. That is what the group rate is for. Tell us how many when you reach out and we will get you scheduled together.
Yes. Tell us when you book so the first hour gets built around that. Some people are better served starting with a private pistol lesson, and we will tell you honestly if that is you.
Book Your Rifle Training
The rifle in your closet is a symbol until you can run it. Owning one and being trained with one are not the same thing.
Start with Fundamentals at the range closest to you, or go straight to Okeechobee and find out what you are actually working with.
Or call or text Mike at 561-213-2974
PALM BEACH COUNTY: West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Wellington, Royal Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Lake Worth Beach, Jupiter
BROWARD COUNTY : Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Tamarac, Margate
MARTIN COUNTY: Stuart
OKEECHOBEE AREA: Okeechobee, Fort Pierce
Can’t travel to our Okeechobee range? No problem. We bring professional firearm training to Palm Beach County and Broward County at convenient local range locations. Wherever you are in South Florida, expert gun training is close.